At some point when we hit adulthood or career-hood, we stop thinking about developing ourselves. It could be from the feeling of having all of our emotional and social needs met – like being in a cozy relationship with someone, or loving our co-workers and what we do at work, or loving being a full-time parent. Whatever the reason, we sort of stop in time. And then one day we wake up breathless from running from something in our sleep. We realize that the world as we knew it is gone. And we have to figure things out. For me it was losing my job. For some friends it’s divorce or stagnating at work or making a quick decision to downsize and disrupt the family norm.
Whatever that dream or nightmare that causes us to wake up, it’s life altering. And trust me, it’s looming and could happen at anytime.
The good news? It’s honestly better to think about ways to develop oneself and have a backup plan or two, just in case.
I was amazed to meet a plant biologist who had graduated from Cornell, and who said he’d switched careers to become a software tester. When I asked why, he said “because I live in Seattle” so matter of fact. I met another guy whose wife, the sole income earner, decided to leave him and move out of the house where he and the kids are living. Now he has to figure out how to afford the mortgage and the separation as a full time stay-at-home dad. He told me he is trying to reinvent himself. Does he get a teaching degree or open a mobile bar? (I asked him to consider starting with the teaching degree and then think about the entrepreneurial endeavor, since he will be supporting himself and the kids part- or full-time depending on the situation).
And that’s not all. As mentioned earlier, GenX is disrupting the marketplace as we know it. A large percentage within my personal community are self-employed. We are our own CEOs. And the other high percentage of corporate dwellers are not really loving what they do. We do know this to be true nationally, based on a Gallup poll measuring engagement at work.
Consider taking the first step toward developing yourself, and then do so continuously. If you don’t know where to begin, have a look online at www.coursera.org.
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