I’ve had a lot of coworkers who were in our field (whatever it was at the time) for decades longer than me. They were way more skilled; way more knowledgeable; way, way, way more qualified than I was to be doing our line of work.
They’d been chugging away, through all that time. Giving quality, commitment, and integrity.
They excelled at their work, in every way.
But so many of them weren’t exactly thrilled with where they were.
Why does it happen that way, so much of the time?
Why is it that we can put years and years of our life into a job, give it our best efforts and a tip-top performance… and still end up disappointed with where it takes us?
I think our work can be compared to a journey. A really long, often-weary, often-tedious journey.
Would you ever head out for a long, weary, and tedious journey without mapping out your route? Without planning your stops? Without even knowing your destination?
No matter how skilled of a driver/flier/sailor/whatever you are – how fantastic are the odds that you’ll get thousands of miles into the trip and be excited about where you are?
Every long trip needs detailed directions.
This week’s video was all about making your map:
And here’s a summary of the process, so you can see it in print:
1 – Know what you want (in the short and long-term).
2 – Identify your personal values.
3 – Identify your talents, and how you want to use them.
4 – Identify what you need to learn or get better at.
5 - Now think about your position – AS-IS – and answer these questions:
How can your job help you learn and develop the things you need?
What do you need to improve in your performance at work?
What skills have you developed at your job already, and how will those help you going forward?
How can you use at least one of your talents at work?
How does your job already align with your values?
How could you make your job align with your values more?
Who at work could help you with a goal, or to develop a skill?
6 – Use all of this to summarize how your job now – exactly as-is – can get you closer to your personal goals.
7 – Make a plan to evolve your position, to make it serve you even more.
You can use your job to get what you want, but you have to use it. It has to be very planned, and very purposeful.
Let’s make a commitment today! Let’s never walk into work again without knowing what it’s all for and where it’s taking us.
Use your job!