Molding your career

-
"Abusive environments often produce feelings of unworthiness and a lack of confidence, not to mention fear. This negative belief system, if carried into adult life, can produce all sorts of unproductive habits including drug addiction, criminal activity and an inability to mold a steady career path." (p.21 of 'The Power of Focus)


I have started reading this new book that a friend lent to me. We were discussing having your own business, and she recommended this book to me. In the first chapter the book focuses on habits, on good habits and bad habits. So far it is a good read with some practical guidelines I have already implemented, but this line that I quoted above is what stood out for me.


Now I am not a drug addict, although I admit a fair share of drug use in my twenties as a journalism student, and I am not a criminal, but it was the third point that holds my attention, the inability to mold a steady career path.


Well, perhaps I am being too hard on myself, as I have often been told, but my career path does look rather checkered, and even though there is a golden thread running through all of them, no knot has yet been tied. No conclusion has been made. No full stop has been placed. I have not yet arrived.


I am reminded of that song from many years ago. "The most interesting people I know still don't," he sings, whilst referring to people not knowing what they wanna do with their lives.


We all know we want to make a positive difference, have a great impact, but talk of grand idealism on your daily to-do list - how does that look like? What can you write on your daily checklist today that could possibly have a cumulative effect for the eventual tomorrow?


Molding one's career path... What does that look like? I have followed my passion, I have been a positive thinker, I have gone through disappointments, but also promotions, I have made decisions based on impulse, once out of desperation, and later with more careful deliberation.


But I have to confess that perhaps I have not been deliberate enough, not focused enough on molding my path, thinking somehow it would all just work out, regardless of the decisions I make. But by now I have learnt you need to set a goal and then attain the skills to mold your career into any shape or form that your creativity can muster and your hands can manage.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Farmer And His Sons

-
Taken from Headway's Intermediate Student's Book: The Farmer And His Sons There was once an old, dying farmer who had worked hard in his vineyard all his life.  Before he died he wanted to teach his three sons how to be good farmers.  So he called them to his bedside and said, 'My boys, I have an important secret to tell you: there is a great treasure buried in the vineyard.  Promise me that you will look for it when I am dead.' The sons gave their promise and as soon as their father had died they began looking for the treasure.  They worked very hard in the hot sun and while they were working they thought about what their father had said.  They pictured boxes of cold coins, diamond necklaces, and other such things.  Soon they had dug up every inch of the vineyard but they found not a single penny.  They were very upset because they felt that all their hard work had been for nothing.   However, a few months later the grapes started to appear on the vines.  Their grapes ...
Read more

Speech technique No.2 - the Unifying Metaphor

-
The Unifying Metaphor: As opposed to a simile which compares two objects using a specific linguistic form, eg. the man was as brave as a lion, a metaphor compares two objects by equating the one with the other, eg. he was a brave lion.   Literally the man was not a lion, but figuratively he was.   This figure of speech is used in literary works of all kinds, including poems and news articles. The Unifying Metaphor aims to unify people.   An example of an American metaphor is the Camel man.   He is healthy, strong and tanned, and he can survive in the wild bushveld with merely a pocketknife and a piece of string.   He drives a 4x4, and he works hard all day.   This is the image of the Camel man – please correct me if I’m wrong.   The logic and truth behind this image may elude us, but what unifies us is what Elgin (1980: p. 227) calls the consensus perception . As a unity, we have reached consensus about the perception of the Camel man.   The theory reminds of the Jung’s colle...
Read more

Bevor ich geboren bin, bin ich gestorben.

-
Image
Bevor ich geboren bin, bin ich gestorben. Warum bleiben dann Gefühle meines eigenen Gewissens? Warum bleiben die Gedanken und die Träume meines eigenen Lebens, wenn mich doch Gott neu geschaffen hat, mir neues Blut gegeben hat, mich in eine neue Familie hat gebracht? Ich will nicht mehr traurig sein, dass mein Leben mir wie nichts vorkommt, dass ich mir so unglaublich wertlos vorkomme, und stattdessen will ich den Glauben fassen, dass Gott mich tatsächlich in Seinen Händen trägt, und mich wirklich beschützt vom Bösen. Ich will mich vergessen, mich verlieben, und dann für andere leben, für einen Sinn außerhalb meiner Wünsche, eine Gnade und Liebe erfahren, die nicht aus dieser Welt stammt, sondern ganz weit entfernt und doch so nah. Ich freue mich auf keinen Tod, doch meiner ist schon vergangen, und mein neues Leben hat schon begonnen, jedoch sieht es manchmal nicht danach aus, und ich schäme mich, dass ich mich nicht mehr hab vertraut an den Herrn, den lieben ...
Read more