A friend of mine called me the other day, very excited to share the latest change in her life.
"This is it!" she excitedly announced.
"After all the mistakes and side tracks that I have taken, I have finally found my calling!" Now, having known this woman for many years, and I have heard similar statements from her several times.
There was the time she was "destined" to be a dog groomer (in lieu of becoming a veterinarian--she loves animals but hates blood), after which she was a project manager for an office furniture company, then an account manager for a high tech firm, and most recently event coordinator for a large corporation.
She has been very good at all of these jobs, has learned the work quickly and been promoted several times.
She has enjoyed all of the various positions she has held, until she didn't enjoy them any more.
And when the honeymoon was over, it was really over.
She tried early on in her career to find ways to freshen her positions with her current employer, to minimize the disruption to her life and keep her tenure.
But the more she changed jobs, the less she feared making job changes, and the spottier her resume became.
Now my friend was prepared to make another abrupt and complete change in her career path, convinced that her new direction was her calling, even though she had little exposure to the field and no previous work or educational experience in the area.
Now, while I do believe that it's possible to "connect" with your calling unexpectedly, I also believe that there are usually clues and messages from within that are received over a longer period of time, so that when you find the profession that ties it all together, it is an "aha!" moment of recognition.
Why does my friend's most recent career direction concern me? Because I have seen this pattern in her life, I do not believe that she has done the work of the dreamer and the planner that is necessary to become clear about your calling.
So what advise do I have for my friend, to make certain that this career change results in lasting satisfaction for her? I would tell her to be both a dreamer and a planner.
Be a Dreamer Being a dreamer is about getting in touch with your values.
Dreaming is a process that allows your values guide you.
Pursuing goals without knowing that they are connecting you to your fundamental self is likely to put you on a treadmill of searching, which is what my friend has done.
She has a lot to offer, but has not taken the time to understand where she should be offering it.
Even in the busiest analytical mind, there is a kernel waiting to be tapped, which will give insight into the type of work that will nourish for a lifetime.
This is the work of the dreamer: to understand the self so that you can pursue a lifetime of work that nourishes you, and those around you.
Some tools of the dreamer are visualization, hypnosis, values survey tools, life mapping and journaling, among others.
Be a Planner Sharon is an excellent planner.
Some of the career choices she has made, and the success she had in those positions, demonstrate this.
Sharon is very left-brained: she is organized, logical, and rational.
Despite her seemingly "flakey" career changes, she continues to find herself in positions that use her organizational and logical decision-making abilities.
These are important skills to have when plotting a career change.
You need to work through the steps required to reach that next goal, whether that is a promotion in your current line of work, or a career change.
You need to identify the gap between your current reality and your desired state, research what is needed to bridge that gap (for example more training, education, additional certifications, better industry connections, a coach or mentor) and lay out a plan to close the gap within a timeframe.
Many people are excellent dreamers, but fall short in the ability to plan.
Some are excellent planners, but are not executing to a dream.
Dreaming without planning is just daydreaming: no fruit will come to bear without planning and doing the work.
Planning without dreaming will bear fruit, but it will likely be sour fruit: short-lived and unsatisfactory in some way, leading to the treadmill of more planning and changes.
In order to make a successful, nourishing and lasting career or life transition, you need to do both.
Most people are better at one or the other, and that is where a coach can help you to balance your approach.
"This is it!" she excitedly announced.
"After all the mistakes and side tracks that I have taken, I have finally found my calling!" Now, having known this woman for many years, and I have heard similar statements from her several times.
There was the time she was "destined" to be a dog groomer (in lieu of becoming a veterinarian--she loves animals but hates blood), after which she was a project manager for an office furniture company, then an account manager for a high tech firm, and most recently event coordinator for a large corporation.
She has been very good at all of these jobs, has learned the work quickly and been promoted several times.
She has enjoyed all of the various positions she has held, until she didn't enjoy them any more.
And when the honeymoon was over, it was really over.
She tried early on in her career to find ways to freshen her positions with her current employer, to minimize the disruption to her life and keep her tenure.
But the more she changed jobs, the less she feared making job changes, and the spottier her resume became.
Now my friend was prepared to make another abrupt and complete change in her career path, convinced that her new direction was her calling, even though she had little exposure to the field and no previous work or educational experience in the area.
Now, while I do believe that it's possible to "connect" with your calling unexpectedly, I also believe that there are usually clues and messages from within that are received over a longer period of time, so that when you find the profession that ties it all together, it is an "aha!" moment of recognition.
Why does my friend's most recent career direction concern me? Because I have seen this pattern in her life, I do not believe that she has done the work of the dreamer and the planner that is necessary to become clear about your calling.
So what advise do I have for my friend, to make certain that this career change results in lasting satisfaction for her? I would tell her to be both a dreamer and a planner.
Be a Dreamer Being a dreamer is about getting in touch with your values.
Dreaming is a process that allows your values guide you.
Pursuing goals without knowing that they are connecting you to your fundamental self is likely to put you on a treadmill of searching, which is what my friend has done.
She has a lot to offer, but has not taken the time to understand where she should be offering it.
Even in the busiest analytical mind, there is a kernel waiting to be tapped, which will give insight into the type of work that will nourish for a lifetime.
This is the work of the dreamer: to understand the self so that you can pursue a lifetime of work that nourishes you, and those around you.
Some tools of the dreamer are visualization, hypnosis, values survey tools, life mapping and journaling, among others.
Be a Planner Sharon is an excellent planner.
Some of the career choices she has made, and the success she had in those positions, demonstrate this.
Sharon is very left-brained: she is organized, logical, and rational.
Despite her seemingly "flakey" career changes, she continues to find herself in positions that use her organizational and logical decision-making abilities.
These are important skills to have when plotting a career change.
You need to work through the steps required to reach that next goal, whether that is a promotion in your current line of work, or a career change.
You need to identify the gap between your current reality and your desired state, research what is needed to bridge that gap (for example more training, education, additional certifications, better industry connections, a coach or mentor) and lay out a plan to close the gap within a timeframe.
Many people are excellent dreamers, but fall short in the ability to plan.
Some are excellent planners, but are not executing to a dream.
Dreaming without planning is just daydreaming: no fruit will come to bear without planning and doing the work.
Planning without dreaming will bear fruit, but it will likely be sour fruit: short-lived and unsatisfactory in some way, leading to the treadmill of more planning and changes.
In order to make a successful, nourishing and lasting career or life transition, you need to do both.
Most people are better at one or the other, and that is where a coach can help you to balance your approach.
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