As I’ve gotten older, I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned and the perspective I’ve gained. Although I’m not immune to moments of nostalgia, thinking about the past, about things I could have done differently, and just wondering where the heck the time went, I’m mostly just curious and even a little excited by what’s to come.
I don’t spend much time reading articles or posts that I swear are deliberately written to try to make us feel bad–you know the ones that remind us about how we’ll have spent 98% of all the time we’ll get with our kids by the time they’re 18 or whatever. I get the intent and reminder to be present and appreciate things as they are but I don’t want to create added suffering on top of everything. I don’t want to believe that just because my kids grow up I have to become a lonely, bored, old lady. I know things will change, but I look at it more as an evolution than a loss. I intend to continue having life and career adventures for as long as I'm able to!
I have long encouraged people to stop resisting their own evolution. I believe the fastest way to become old is to never do anything new.
Sometimes though, transforming career boredom into career adventure has as much to do with what we're doing outside of work as what we're doing for work. Some areas you might want to think about when it comes to changing things up if you’re feeling a little bored or stuck might include:
What you get paid to do.
What you do just for fun.
What you do for relaxation and connection.
The ways you keep your mind engaged.
What you do to get outside.
What you do to move your body.
Think about what feels important to you and play around with it. I’m not going to pretend I have any sort of “perfect” balance of activities that take up my time because I definitely do not. I mostly focus on getting better and better at being mindful. I’m also practicing being more and more willing. Here’s what I mean…
Becoming more willing
What would happen if you were willing to do something each week or day that you didn’t feel like doing but knew was in your best interest?
What if you started by picking one thing and just stayed open? Just stayed willing to say, rest even when there was still work to do. Or, say shut work off on time. Or, scheduled 30 minutes of focus time to update your resume? Or, had a conversation you’ve been putting off or finally rescheduled the doctors appointment you keep cancelling?
What if you just decided to be willing to feel the discomfort of doing the thing rather than the comfort or maybe even the discomfort of not doing it?
There would also be a condition.
You have to be willing to comfort what comes up—including any unwillingness. This means no judgement, no berating yourself if you don’t do this perfectly. You encourage yourself to try again but with compassion—like you would show someone else.
What if you tried that? What would happen, I wonder?
Career Regret
I hear a lot about regret and the fear of regret quite often from my clients. What comes up sometimes is fear of making wrong choices about how we’re spending our time. We tend to fancy ourselves as fortune tellers when we’re truly not very good at it. We want to predict the outcome of all of our decisions ahead of time. Anxiety looks for safety in knowing what's going to happen but actually trusting ourself-- trusting that we can cope with anything that comes our way is the GOLD. Many of us can be pretty hard on ourselves when we feel like we’ve made a bad decision somewhere along the line. If this is you, reframe that thought as soon as you can.
When it comes to the world of work, we’re in a period of pretty rapid change. There’s a lot of talk about what’s going to happen to jobs because of Artificial Intelligence, of course and we’ve undergone a pretty big collective shift since the start of the pandemic, too.
We’re at a point where I think everyone is just trying to figure it out. We’re seeing more and more lists and articles about jobs that may become obsolete and a big question seems to be “what should we expect in the future?”, “how should I help my child plan for their future career?” and "how should I plan for mine?"
When it comes to making decisions about the future of work, I think rather than focus on “getting it right” it’s important to also focus on learning how to survive getting it wrong.
You’ve got to have a balance of tangible and intangible. By tangible I mean putting in practices to make your career as future proof as you can in practical ways but also realizing that you can’t do this 100%. There are no guarantees. Prepare for this.
Consider some of the most obvious things like continuous learning. Part of that learning can include learning to embrace the technologies that are driving AI advancements. Find ways to integrate it into your work. Explore how AI can assist you in automating repetitive tasks, analyzing data more efficiently, or improving decision-making processes.
Focus on developing skills that set you apart from AI, such as critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, complex problem-solving, and interpersonal communication. These skills are difficult to replicate and highly valued in many industries.
Cultivate a mindset of adaptability and embrace change. Be willing to explore new roles, industries, or emerging fields that align with your interests and offer promising growth opportunities.
The goal will not be to compete with AI because we’ll lose. The goal will be to leverage its capabilities and combine them with our own uniquely human skills and strengths.
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect plan. There are only ever options. A plan is intended to give you a focus, NOT a reason to beat yourself up.
I know something brought you here and maybe it was a search for what to do next about your career. There are a few ways I can help:
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Kim, a one on one coaching client had this to say about working with me:
I followed Christine on social media for quite some time before I reached out so I felt confident that she was the right coach for me. I’d recommend her coaching for anyone who feels stuck in their career and doesn’t quite know where to begin – anyone looking for accountability and motivation to change. Working with Christine led to a huge shift in my thinking about the level of power I have over my personal contentment. What I liked best about working with Christine was that I felt safe – she is genuine, honest and supportive – so I was able to be vulnerable and easily share what I needed in order to move forward. Her constant reassurance that it’s okay to continue exploring, shifting and changing as I grow was invaluable for my piece of mind. Most importantly, Christine believed in me when I had trouble believing in myself. She helped me truly internalize that no matter what obstacles and challenges arise, I can persevere and continue moving forward.
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