Are You Where You Should Be?

Welcome back! I hope that you have been reading, pondering and maybe even taking action based on what you’ve read so far. I am so grateful to be able to lead you in this journey to really owning your career- on your terms!

The third core belief in my Career Happiness foundation is this:

“Your career and the rest of your life will change and therefore, your definition of career happiness will shift as well- and it should!”

Yep, that’s right. What works for you in your career today will not necessarily work for you a year, 5 years or 10 years from now. You may look back wistfully on the days of “30 years and a gold watch”, but in my humble opinion, that was never a good state of being. Virtually every part of our lives is in constant change- family, other key relationships, our health and the health of those we love, interests, priorities, skills, etc. If you don’t believe me, think back to where and who you were 5, 10 years ago. What has changed? Now, look ahead. How old will you be? Your kids? Your parents? And what might that mean for you and your life? For example, if you are in a heavy travel role now, might you have children in 5 years or so? Do you think near constant travel will impact your role as a parent? Of course it will. Will having children for whom you have college hopes impact what you do with your money? Of course it will. So, with all of that change going on in every other sector of your life, can you see how your career goals and interests might change as well?

As scary (and overwhelming) as it may sound to have to remain constantly vigilant about aligning all of your “life parts”, it is also potentially exciting, fulfilling, and will lead you to many versions of your Career Happiness.

When I think back over my career in Human Resources, I did enjoy it. It was good for me at the time, and certainly was a part of my journey to the best role I have ever had- the one I have right now. I can guarantee that I would never go back to HR, because it is no longer right for who I am now. And I can also not foresee where I will be in 5 years- in my career or otherwise. Can you?

Given the ever increasing pace of change in our world, I believe that we owe ourselves the time to think, grow, develop, move and change within our careers. In my experience, what hold us back from doing so is some combination of fear, lack of self-knowledge, self-confidence, and just a general lack of knowledge of how to get what you want in the job market.

And that is why we are together on this journey. Leaders worth following often become worth following because of their collection of experiences that give them perspective, vision, and the ability to think big about resources, ideas- and people.

When was the last time you put your head up and looked around and asked yourself whether your career is working in alignment with the rest of your life? And if your answer is in the neighborhood of “no”, what are you prepared to do about it?