Tuesday, May 8, 2012
“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it!” —Jonathan Winters
Do you feel like you’re in control of the direction your career is heading? Are you personally leading the way or do you feel as if you’re in neutral, idling along and waiting for things to happen?
Sometimes in our lives we find ourselves in “wait” mode, or, perhaps find ourselves in the passenger seat, along for the ride instead of the one in the driver’s seat creating the forward path. This can happen as a result of spending a lot of time in one job or with one company, or simply as a result of being uncertain about what you want to do next or how you want to grow.
To make the most of our profession and our career movement, we need to be an active participant by taking control, getting in the driver’s seat and shifting into first gear. Doing this means that you stop waiting for someone to tell you what to do next and you decide what you want to do next. From there, you put a plan in place that will help you reach your destination. You decide on the best actions to take to move forward. Even if it’s just one step towards where you want to go, take it. The next idea or action will come to you from that first step you take. It’s easy to get complacent and is common to find ourselves sitting in neutral while we wait for someone to tell us what to do next or present us with an opportunity. However, that can result in lots of idle time and waiting around for something that may never actually come to be. Make something happen by taking steps to move forward in your career. Get out of neutral and into drive. Like Jonathan Winters said, “ If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.”
