By Janie Warner
It was more than 40 years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. One of my favorite (and influential) teachers I ever had wrote in my yearbook: “What you are to be, you are now becoming.” Heavy stuff for a junior high student – but sage advice for the future me.
As we enter this New Year, we are busy taking care of all the minutiae of a new cycle of business and perhaps making changes to meet the challenges unique to a booming economy and low unemployment. We may be at a point in our careers where we think less about who we want to be and are just moving along with who we are today. It’s still important to vision who we want to become – and to realize that, much like the sage advice of Mr. Cecil Brown, we are NOW working on that future self – even if we aren’t doing so consciously.
In the fresh start of 2020, let’s stop for just a few minutes and think about WHO and WHAT we want to be – not just this year, but in the years to come. Here are a few ideas on getting that momentum moving in a forward direction:
PERSONAL VISION
Are you where you envisioned yourself career-wise when you started? Whether you are two years in or twenty five years into your career, you probably had certain aspirations and goals you thought you would have achieved by now. Stop and articulate those goals again. If you aren’t on the path you once thought you wanted to be, are you okay with that? Or do you still have dreams about a different work life? If you are satisfied with the direction your career has taken, where do you want to go next? If you aren’t happy that you took a career detour, how can you get back on track?
GOAL SETTING
What are you career goals? You never get too old to have goals! In fact, when you quit dreaming of the future, you are essentially limiting your life. If it’s been a while since you set goals for your career path, start now. Start a journal – or a blog – or any other method of holding yourself accountable. This is NOT a New Year’s resolution. This is a well thought out goal setting exercise that sets the path from where you are to where you want to be. The important thing is to start.
NETWORKING
Sometimes we only network for purposes of business opportunities for our employer – but not for ourselves. Seek out networking opportunities in areas you have the most interest. Refer to your vision and goals as your guide. Think you want to completely change careers? Seek out and talk to others who have had major career changes. Look for people in the career you think would be a good fit for you. Talk to them about their job satisfaction and the challenges they have. Do not get so consumed with busy work that you ignore this important aspect of your own development.
PURPOSE TO LEARN
Most professionals are keenly aware of the need to stay on top of the information that drives their field of expertise. Part of the process of “becoming” involves being purposeful about that learning process. If it is not a priority of your day, it will get put on the back burner and you may miss some important information that will place you in the unenviable position of being uninformed. Moving forward in any career field involves a drive for life-long learning. For many true professionals, even after retirement, they seek to stay in the loop of what is happening in their field. If you think you don’t have the time, you won’t. Set aside time EVERY DAY to read, listen to podcasts, attend a webinar – anything that will further your knowledge. It is the greatest irony that we often set aside our own career development because our career gets in the way. PURPOSE to learn. When it becomes a daily habit, you won’t believe what you can become.
SHARE THE WEALTH
We can strengthen our own knowledge by sharing with others. If you have ever had to teach a class, write an article or present information in any other way, you know that you learn something in the process. Do you avoid opportunities to share your expertise? Or do you actively look for ways to talk about your passion?
BECOME PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR JOB
Lastly, if you aren’t passionate about the work you do, it will always seem like a chore. To be certain, all jobs/careers/vocations have moments of the mundane, the menial and the dreaded. However, if you overall feel passionate about the work you do, it will show. It will be obvious to those who follow you and those who listen to you that you truly care about your career path. You will want to share what you have learned through trial and error and purposeful learning. Your passion may just be the spark someone else needs to kick start their own journey. Passion is contagious – spread it around!
If your desire is for 2020 to be the start of something new – or if you are just looking for inspiration to keep pushing toward your goals, start now. You have 365 days until 2021 – and who you are to be THEN, you are becoming TODAY. Make your time count. Become who you desire to be. You will be glad you didn’t let another day get away from you.
National HR Practice Leader
McGriff Insurances Services, Inc. [email protected] www.mcgriffinsurance.com