I’ll admit it. I lost my college textbook entitled, “An Easy Career Journey 101.” It also appears I don’t remember any classroom lectures that taught lessons like, how to make difficult career decisions, how to face a sudden job loss, how to deal with toxic behaviors, how to manage through an uncertain economy, or how to handle frustrating days, and so on. Like most people though, I had to figure those things out the hard way. Usually, those lessons come as a pop quiz day by day.
It seems to me that developing a strong career and character depth is through one rope strand at a time. Through each and every experience, good or bad, we are given a strand of rope.
What we do with the strands is completely up to us. We can pile them up in a corner of a room and do nothing with it. We can sweep them up and throw them away. Or we can braid each strand until it becomes a strong rope that can’t be broken.
Here are 3 ways I’ve learned to braid my rope and develop career resiliency.
- Feed The Right Wolf
No matter the circumstance we always have a choice. Consider this Native American parable.
The Two Wolves
The battle rages. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves.
One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person too.
Which wolf will win?
It's the one you feed.
Maybe the company you work for is going through a lot of change, fear and uncertainty. But if quitting is not an option, then this is your reality. Or perhaps you've lost your job and now the next career step is unclear. Whatever the case, resist focusing on negative thoughts. Focus on feeding the good wolf. Therein lies the first step in braiding a strong resiliency rope.
2) Practice The Art of Self-leadership
When receiving bad news sometimes our negative selves may tell us to lash out or punch back, even if just verbally. Or negative thoughts take up residence in our minds. Life is funny though, it turns out two negatives do not make a positive. Greeting bad news with a negative response doesn’t change the reality and may make things worse.
When faced with a difficult situation try thinking about these things:
- Remember you have a greater purpose in life
- Everything you experience prepares you for a greater thing later on
- No one has the right to dictate your value; no one is in charge of your happiness except you
- Leverage every experience to braid your resiliency rope
- Learning new skills, also called upskilling
- Find a career coach that can provide support and resources
3) Pull Together, Not Apart
Regardless of the circumstances or environment, it is more important than ever pull together and be a support for one another. There is something empowering about that despite how difficult the situation.
Pull your rope strands together and build a stronger rope.
The career journey at times may be difficult. But remember to collect those strands of rope. Braid it. Learn from it. Rise from it.
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