How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
—Annie Dillard
The reason most of us stay where we are and just keep hoping for some magic that will make tomorrow better is because that’s easier. There’s no mystery here. It can be exhausting to examine who you are today and how and why you have made the career and choices you’ve made along the way. Then, to pause to wonder about what it is you really, really want to be doing, then about when is the right time to do it, and finally about where in the world do you start and—bottom line—why bother? Still, you’ve done all that and made it this far. All that’s left now is to take that first step. It’s time to figure out what that is.
Any project you take on, any challenge you face, any process you follow, from attending school to cleaning the house, happens one step at a time. What is easy to forget is that first step . . . the one that gets you started.
How do you eat an elephant? Simple. One bite at a time. But, with something that (or this) large in front of you, you better have a plan.
Your Renewal Plan has been taking shape throughout your reading of this book. It’s got a lot of great foundation in it already. In fact, five of its six steps are done. Finished. Ready. Only two very important parts remain. One is to put some action in it, and lastly, the other is to do it. This chapter will help you with the former. The latter is up to you.
Before adding very real, achievable, and specific steps to complete your plan there are just a few more things you need to do to get every excuse, rationalization, and potential impediment out of your way. Move through these, and then you’ll be able to clearly see your future.
Do you love your job or do you hate your job? Or do you live somewhere in between? Have you decided that yet? You’ve read about the symptoms and the impact of all of these three alternatives, and yet somehow this particular quandary might still hang like an anvil around your neck (or at least a speed bump to your future). Remember, this is not a deal breaker for your renewal, but it is an unhealthy and distracting argument to continually have with yourself. Commit now to do something about it. Maybe not completely resolve it, but to at least put it into perspective and reduce it to a manageable issue (so whatever else is in your life can go on). One more time, consider all your options.
“Staying in a bad job is both easier and harder than leaving.”2 Still, it can be done, and for lots of reasons, it often should be, at least until better alternatives are developed. What you never want to do, though, is quit in place. That’s what happens when you decide to stay but do nothing other than impede productivity, exude cynicism, and generally be a pain in the neck. “At work, an ambivalent disposition can be an obstacle. Employers want to see passion. If you don’t love your job, you’re expected to act as if you do and, every so often, you are called upon to articulate unalloyed enthusiasm.”3 And no, that’s not expecting too much, from your employer’s perspective. Why? Because negativity in a work team spreads like paper mold in the book sale room. Your bosses don’t expect this positivity from you just for your benefit . . . it’s their job to protect the whole team.
Instead, “use your powers for good instead of evil”4 and consider making some changes for the better:
You’ll notice this option doesn’t read Go. That’s what might come next, after careful looking. And looking, done right, takes time, patience, and intention. Since no one wants to be in either the frying pan or the fire, it pays, once you’ve decided it’s time to look, to look wisely. Just as the adage advises us to never go to bed mad, neither should we jump from job to job without thoughtful, reasoned, and unemotional purpose.
“Tune in to your intuition before deciding what to do next. If your goals and desires do not come from a secure place within yourself, you will pay undue attention to wet blankets and false friends.”6 At this point, you have paid close attention to your values, your purpose, and your future. So that makes you ready to start looking. One more caution, before you leap. Remember what the noted philosopher and humorist Erma Bombeck once demonstrated; the grass isn’t always greener, unless you are over the septic tank. Be sure you’re leaving for the right reasons and are looking for (and have found) the right solution.
Know “what conflict you are escaping. Dishonesty? Corporate greed? Hypocrisy? Allow yourself to wonder if these qualities are mirrored in your own life—or even in your mind.”7
With all this clear . . . go ahead and look. But keep your renewal moving forward concurrently, so both your reasons and your solutions can share overlapping success. Maybe the next job you find won’t be your perfect job either, but at least you’ll be moving closer to where you want to be. “If I lose my direction, I have to look for the North Star, and I go to the north. That does not mean that I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.”8 The trick is to just keep moving.
There are plenty of ways to clear the decks and be really ready to get something done. Any student of organizational management will tell you that multiple processes have been used and have changed and evolved over the years, as society has developed and our roles and responsibilities have become clearer.
If you are an observer of the history of the women’s movement, for example, you will be amazed at how fragilely and superficially women’s interests and focus used to be perceived. Consider these 1949 instructions for undertaking a relatively simple project: sewing.
“Prepare yourself mentally for sewing. Think about what you are going to do. Never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference dominates. Never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade. When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so that your mind is free to enjoy your sewing. When you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible. Put on a clean dress. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on. If you are constantly fearful that a visitor might drop in or your husband will come home, and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing.”9
Wow. What can this almost 70-year-old example possibly say about preparing to accomplish something today? Maybe that time really, really changes? As you prepare to detail and begin your personal renewal process, there are some more modern-day considerations to keep in mind. For one thing, even with technology, advanced communication, and information overload all around us, it’s clear that your focus and mental preparation are critical for project success. However it works for you, get ready, be ready, and stay ready to face successfully the changes that your renewal will undoubtedly bring about. The three steps suggested below might help provide the focus; finding and holding on to the resulting confidence will be up to you.
If you had the opportunity to work with a professional career counselor, chances are one concept you might be introduced to is developing your career’s “sweet spot.”10 For renewal purposes, the elements that make up this special place are just as pertinent and applicable in mid and even end-stage career changes as they are for young professionals just stepping out. That spot is the place where three critical concepts intersect and you find yourself doing what you like to do and what you’re good at and being paid for it. It may sound easy but, then, so did sewing before all those rules. Minus the restrictions (for the moment, at least) of culture, bias, and competition, you’d be wise to fill in these basics—from the heart—before moving on and committing to specific goals.
It probably won’t be easy or without challenge to move your work and life towards more meaning, so you’re going to want to remember to stay positive. Without minimizing the extensive implications of the concept of appreciative inquiry, that’s very basically what it tells us to do. “Choose a positive focus, identify on times when things are going well, and avoid the natural habit of spotlighting challenges, problems, and tougher times.”11 Later, when your life is more settled again, consider looking further into applying more appreciative habits to everything from leadership to motivation because “in order to carry a positive action, we must develop a positive vision.”12
Both of my first two books were built on the simple concept that if a person could dedicate just one hour each week to their own development, incredible growth could be achieved. This idea was first introduced to me back in the 1980s when I was in library graduate school and our dean pointed out that most people are so busy that they don’t take any time out of their schedule to just stop and think. There are lots of reasons offered for a lack of skill development for many professionals, from no time to no money to no purpose. But there is a purpose in learning. No matter where your renewal will lead you, you’re undoubtedly going to need to learn something, anything new. “These days, acquiring new professional skills is no longer optional, it’s compulsory. The good news is; you don’t need a ton of time to learn. The key is; be consistent and focused.”13
It’s time to start on your elephant. A wise person once said, if you don’t have a plan written down, you don’t have a plan. It’s time to finish writing yours, so you can get to work.
In a true, visual sense, strategies begin with big pictures and get narrower from there. You’ve already done your big-picture work by identifying and committing to your values and, from there, deciding when, where, and why to work them into your life. The final sections of your plan will help you identify specific goals, then prioritize and narrow them down to one on which you can get started. In order to achieve your goal, you’ll need to set up a timeline for yourself that outlines the very specific steps that will lead your renewal—and to your success.
A high school dance team instructor used to keep her girls focused on great, potential achievements by telling them to “shoot for the moon, and you’ll land among the stars.”14 What about you? Given everything you’ve read and considered so far, it’s time to get specific and think about what you’d really, really like to add to your life. Don’t think small. Put your action where your values are—shoot for the moon!
“Feeling good about your work, its outcome, and the rewards you receive is a central point to life satisfaction.”15 But having a vision isn’t enough; you must transform it into something tangible by setting goals. Here’s how you’re going to do it.
With all the money and time in the world, we could all probably create a list of hundreds of things we’d love to do. But let’s be more realistic. You need to sharpen your focus. Think about what you’ve been dreaming of, then we’ll match it to the work and direction you’ve uncovered so far. For each of the categories below, enter just one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish that, every time you’ve even just thought of it, you’ve felt a surge of adrenaline. What makes you smile, just thinking about it? What would get you out of bed in the morning, excited to begin your day? What would you love to be able to tell everyone that you’re doing? In short, what would make you proud, just to know you’re involved in it? Fill in something for every category as though the sky’s the limit . . . you’ll pick a winner to get started on soon enough.
You’ve now listed actions that could lead to improvement in five distinct areas, from improving yourself to relationships, your organization, the world, and your profession. Getting active and involved now in any of these would energize your interests, your passions, and your purpose. All are undoubtedly important to you, but we’re not here to change the world overnight. It’s time to park some of them to come back to later on and to focus on right now on the one thing that will truly make you feel renewed. Now it’s time to bring together one of your potential goals and one of the accomplishments of which you’ve dreamed.
Nothing significant has changed. You have no more money or time or influence now than you had back when you used to dream about getting involved and having an impact in one of these areas. The only thing different now is that you’ve decided—for all the right reasons—to get started.
If, for example, you listed a professional goal as teaching, that doesn’t mean you have to quit your job tomorrow and fanatically pursue a PhD so that the local college will hire you. It might, instead, mean you’ll take a class on how adults learn. Or you might volunteer to lead a workshop or webinar for your current organization, exploring both the process and the reward you hope to pursue. From those ambitions you just articulated in each of the sections in “Dreaming Big,” you’re going to select just the one to move you forward right now. The others can stay safely parked until your next renewal begins.
“Pick something you’d like to share with the world. Think of this project as a present you want to leave behind when you go. Don’t worry about it too much. Your first attempts at accomplishing something might be valuable only because they teach you about yourself and how you work. You can’t go wrong, if you simply select anything you really love to do.”17
To keep this critical step aligned with everything you’ve considered up to this point in the book, go back to Lines # 5, 6, and 7 from Your Renewal Plan in the back of the book and rewrite your three “optional” goals below.
Now, pick one.
Pick the one that jumps off the page at you.
Pick the one that makes you feel the most hopeful. Or the one that now, after all you’ve read and considered about your renewal, holds the greatest promise to make your future your own.
An important note to keep you focused on your path: “Most of us generally know what we want in life. For some, it’s playing guitar or dancing. For others, it’s writing, hiking, spending time with family, photography, or drawing. So, if we know what makes us feel alive, who do we resist it? Why do we avoid doing what we love to do?”18 Here are just a few common explanations. Whatever else happens, avoid these situations at all costs!
Hopefully, you’re ready now to commit to that single goal you selected and get started making this renewal matter for something. With all the fears and excuses out of the way, carefully reread those ideas you just shared for improving yourself, your relationships, your organization, the world, or your profession.
Where does all this intersect and leave you energized to get started? It’s there, but don’t expect a perfect fit. Rather, think long and hard about where and how you see an overlap that can turn into something that’s always been in you—and you’re excited about getting it out! This is to be your renewal’s specific goal, moving forward. Go ahead and fill it in on the line below:
Here’s how it’s going to work. Baby steps. Milestones. Small but crucial achievements made one at a time to keep me continually moving forward. I’ll be patient but determined and I won’t give up on myself. To begin, I need to clearly articulate one single (for now) goal. It will be to:
Now, recopy your answer onto Line #11 in Your Renewal Plan in the back of the book. You’re on your way, and what’s the worst that could happen? You could land among the stars.
Congratulations, you have a goal! Now it’s time to make it work. But you need some additional encouragement to keep you on track, focused, and committed to see your goal achieved. In short, you need to design a strategy.
“Most people would like to take a more strategic approach to their work, but don’t do so because they don’t know what doing strategy really means.”21 What it truly means is not as much about what you’re going to do, but about how you’re going to do it. So if you’re reaching for your calendar, you’re on the right track. It’s time to set some deadlines.
Remember, though, schedules and date targets won’t do you much good if your life and other commitments work their way back to the front of your To Do list. To keep that from happening, you are going to have to be consistently diligent in managing your time and your energy. A few ideas might help:
One of the most common mistakes people make when plotting projects is that they make calendar entries for only the deadline. Have you done that? It’s your mother-in-law’s birthday on April 3, so you dutifully note on your calendar “April 3, Mom’s Birthday.” Then what happens? You turn the calendar page on April 1 and realize it’s too late to send a card now, it will never arrive in two days! Or, at work, you note on your desk blotter (or virtual blotter, or whatever you use) that all personnel evaluations are due to the director on December 1. You’d better not just write that as a reminder on December 1. If you’re smart, you’ll go back and reserve the time needed to complete each and every evaluation long before they’re due!
“If you’re anything like the typical human . . . there are probably many things—large and small—that you would like to accomplish. That’s great, but there is one common mistake we often make when it comes to setting goals . . . The problem is this: set a deadline, but not a schedule.”23 There’s a very simple way to overcome that common misstep—and that’s to commit to pursuing this renewal goal not necessarily by measuring against our performance, but by actions that move us forward.
“Productive and successful people practice the things that are important to them on a consistent basis. The best weightlifters are in the gym at the same time very week. The best writers are sitting down at the keyboard every day. The focus is on doing the action, not on achieving X goal by a certain date.”24
Take another look at your goal. If you wrote that (as an example) you want to finish that novel, then what you need much more than a deadline (I’ll finish it by December 31, 2017) is a commitment to make the time to work on it . . . and to not give up. So, you might say between now and December 31, 2017, I’ll find at least 3 hours each week to work on my novel. In fact, I’ll commit right now to writing one chapter a month for the next year. “If you want to be the type of person who accomplishes things [ed., including, most importantly, your own renewal] on a consistent basis, then give yourself a schedule to follow, not a deadline to race towards.”25
What’s your time commitment going to look like? Fill in your plan here, then recopy your answer onto Lines # 12 and 13 in Your Renewal Plan in the back of this book.
In order to stay committed to achieving my goal and to really give myself a real chance to succeed, I’m going to put on my calendar right now time to work on its progress (when and how often?):
With this level of dedication, I’m comfortable that I’ll have made significant progress by:
I hate the language of strategic planning. Why? Because it makes the simple act of getting something really important done seem so boring and complicated. Here’s an example that brings the process back into perspective:
This is when people start rolling their eyes and begin visualizing the shopping list on the refrigerator door. When working with organizations, the trick to establishing great goals is to not just list everything everyone in the room wants to do—but to select goals that fill a real need. And then, to make clear what has to happen back on planet Earth, in the real world, in order for those goals to be achieved.
Objectives can be simple, too. They just clarify what needs to happen before the goal can be achieved or at least what needs to happen to keep you moving forward and in the right direction toward success. “A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at.”26 So what are you aiming for? And how will you be able to tell whether or not it’s a good aim? I would suggest you consider two things:
“Picture yourself at sea, a hostile ship bearing down on you. You have a limited amount of gunpowder. You take all your gunpowder and use it to fire a big cannonball. The cannonball flies out over the ocean . . . and misses the target, off by 40 degrees. You turn to your stockpile and discover that you’re out of gunpowder. You die.
“But, suppose instead that when you see the ship bearing down, you take a little bit of gunpowder and fire a bullet. It misses by 40 degrees. You make another bullet and fire. It misses by 30 degrees. You make a third bullet and fire, missing by only 10 degrees. The next bullet hits—ping!—the hull of the oncoming ship. Now, you take all the remaining gunpowder and fire a big cannonball along the same line of sight, which sinks the enemy ship. You live.”27
Seems sensible, right? So then, instead of putting all your eggs (or gunpowder) in one basket when you begin your renewal, why not just identify a few steps you’re fairly sure will get you moving in the right direction, and begin with them? Don’t forget that second tip offered earlier, as it is just as critical as the first . . . always be willing to recalculate. In other words, “No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, turn back.”28 Then start again. Along your journey:
Okay, it’s time to write and wrap this plan up. Coming down from the lofty world of goals, it’s time to think of those first steps toward realizing one of your lifelong dreams. That makes it sound worthwhile, right? This is the exciting part. This is where you get to decide how and what comes next.
Will you be taking classes? Looking for a new job? Expanding your current job? Mentoring someone? What? You should begin with the same process used previously in this book. Rewrite your goal from Line 11 below and then, under it, write at least ten things, actions, or steps that would help you achieve it. Don’t stop early . . . write at least ten . . . and write even more if you can think of them.
In Order to Reach My Goal of:
Several Things Need to Happen/Take Place, in no particular order:
At this point, you might just be expecting to hear that, of all of those ten actions you listed, you need to put them in order of complexity or cost or impact—but that’s not going to be suggested at all.
Instead, rate each of the ten, on a 1–10 scale, according to these criteria:
All the way down to:
And
You get the picture. Then, of course, rewrite, reword, schmooze out, or otherwise clearly articulate your top three, and enter them below:
It’s time to stop thinking about it—and to get started. In order to reach my goal successfully, I’ll start by working on these three things:
Next, recopy these answers onto Lines #14, 15, and 16 in Your Renewal Plan in the back of this book.
“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”31
Good advice. It’s time now for you to get back to work, but hopefully you’ll be going back a bit more energized and focused than you were when you picked up this book. Hopefully, Your Renewal Plan will go back to work with you and, together, you’ll keep an excitement for work alive. But you’re going to have to return the favor. Don’t stop tweaking, polishing, and renewing your plan and your goals until and unless they are fun, exciting and really, really challenging.
Because that’s what true renewal looks like.
Otherwise, we’re just working.
To close, here’s a thought for all of us who have great ideas, like renewing ourselves, but then lose steam at the thought of tilting at such an enormous windmill. How can we do it, really? How can we possibly succeed at such an enormous task?
“Actually, I just woke up one day and decided I didn’t want to feel like that anymore, or ever again. So I changed. Just like that.”32
NOTES
1. “Double-Tongued Word Wrester Dictionary,” Barry Popik, 2008, www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/it_wasnt_raining_when_noah_built_the_ark.
2. Christie Mims, “4 Ways to Know It’s Time to Quit Your Job,” World Economic Forum, 2016, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/04/4-ways-to-know-its-time-to-quit-your-job/.
3. Tracy Moore, “No, You Absolutely Do Not Have to Love Your Job,” Jezebel, February 17, 2015, http://jezebel.com/no-you-absolutely-do-not-have-to-love-your-job-1686132756.
4. Dianne Discenzo, personal conversation.
5. Mims, “4 Ways to Know.”
6. Cathy Goodwin, “Ten Things to Do If You Really, Really Hate Your Job,” Experience by Simplicity, 2016, https://www.experience.com/alumnus/article?channel_id=career_management&source_page=additional_articles&article_id=article_1170473321734.
7. Ibid.
8. “Living Life Fully,” www.livinglifefully.com/journey.html.
9. David Mikkelson, “Advice from a 1949 Singer Sewing Manual,” Snopes, January 23, 2015, www.snopes.com/history/document/sewing.asp.
10. Janet Wall, “Finding the Sweet Spot for Career Success,” The Career Development Quarterly (Spring 2016): 16–18.
11. Donald A. Schutt, A Strength-Based Approach to Career Development Using Appreciative Inquiry (Broken Arrow, OK: National Career Development Association, 2007), 12.
12. “‘In Order to Carry a Positive Action We Must Develop Here a Positive Vision,’ Dalai Lama,” iamraok—Random Acts of Kindness—Wordpress, September 5, 2013, https://iamraok.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/in-order-to-carry-a-positive-action-we-must-develop-here-a-positive-vision-dalai-lama/.
13. Nicole Cavazos, “How to Learn a New Job Skill in Just 15 Minutes a Day,” ZipRecruiter.com, “Job Search Tips,” January 27, 2015, https://www.ziprecruiter.com/blog/learn-new-job-skills-15-minutes-a-day/.
14. Kathy Werner, personal conversation.
15. Caitlin Williams and Annabelle Reitman, Career Moves: Be Strategic about Your Future (Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development, 2012), 108.
16. “Creating Personal Leadership Plans: My Leadership Development Plan,” What Are Good Leadership Skills, www.what-are-good-leadership-skills.com/personal-leadership.
17. Barbara Sher, What Should I Do When I Want to Do Everything? Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program for Doing All That You Love (Emmaus, PA: Rodale Books, 2006), 249.
18. “Why Do We Avoid Doing What We Love?” Pick the Brain, Motivation and Self Improvement, June 12, 2008, www.pickthebrain.com/blog/why-do-we-avoid-doing-what-we-love/.
19. Ibid.
20. “A Goal Is a Dream with a Deadline,” Lingholic, “Goals,” April 2, 2013, www.lingholic.com/a-goal-is-a-dream-with-a-deadline/.
21. Herminia Ibarra, “Six Ways to Grow Your Job,” Harvard Business Review, “Career Planning,” September 25, 2013, https://hbr.org/2013/09/six-ways-to-grow-your-job/.
22. Ibid.
23. James Clear, “How to Achieve Your Goals (This Simple Trick Makes Progress Easy),” James Clear, “Goal Setting,” February 21, 2013, http://jamesclear.com/schedule-goals.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. “‘A Goal Is Not Always Meant to Be Reached, It Often Serves Simply as Something to Aim at,’” Lifehacker, January 21, 2013, http://lifehacker.com/5977645/a-goal-is-not-always-meant-to-be-reached-it-often-serves-simply-as-something-to-aim-at.
27. Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck: Why Some Thrive Despite Them All (New York: HarperCollins, 2011), 78–79.
28. John D. Krumboltz and Al S. Levin, Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career (Atascadero, CA: Impact, 2008), 75.
29. Williams, Career Moves.
30. Henrik Edberg, “7 Powerful Reasons Why You Should Write Things Down,” The Positivity Blog, www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2010/09/30/write-things-down/.
31. “Ralph Marston Quotes at BrainyQuote.Com,” BrainyQuote, 2001, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ralphmarst132647.html.
32. “Motivational,” Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/190980840418761241/.