Crystal balls
Amidst all of the quotes I've underlined in books and Pinned to my "Words to Live By" board, this has struck me the most in recent memory:
Simple? Yes. Obvious? Well... yeah, okay. Similar to things I've recently told advice-seeking loved ones? Mmm hmmm. Then why did I have to read a book in order for it to hit home?
I've had a fondness for (perhaps an unhealthy obsession with...) index cards since my 7th grade Social Studies class. So, when the first instruction in Jon Acuff's new book, Do Over, was to go buy a stack of index cards, I did with utter glee. And then I bought two more stacks (you know, just in case).
I'm in the process of what Jon has termed a Career Do Over. I hit a Career Ceiling in July 2014 and made a Career Jump in January 2015. Career Jumps are positive, voluntary actions. My experience thus far has been positive, but I've had a nagging, stagnant feeling for the last week.
My internal dialogue:
Crystal ball? No thanks. I got this.
...plus, I'm clumsy. The ball wouldn't last a week, anyway ;)
I can't predict the future, but I can change the present.
________________________
I've had a fondness for (perhaps an unhealthy obsession with...) index cards since my 7th grade Social Studies class. So, when the first instruction in Jon Acuff's new book, Do Over, was to go buy a stack of index cards, I did with utter glee. And then I bought two more stacks (you know, just in case).
I'm in the process of what Jon has termed a Career Do Over. I hit a Career Ceiling in July 2014 and made a Career Jump in January 2015. Career Jumps are positive, voluntary actions. My experience thus far has been positive, but I've had a nagging, stagnant feeling for the last week.
My internal dialogue:
- "Okay, I made the Jump. In a 3 month span, I've started two new jobs, am acquiring new work skills, moved myself 1,000 miles from home, and started blogging about the experience. Why haven't I completely conquered something else big in the last week?!"
- "Wheeeeeen am I going to be doing exactly what I want to be doing? I want to know now. Actually, I wanted to know yesterday."
- "These people [Shannon O'Donnell, Adam Braun, Stephanie Zito] are doing incredibly profound things. I'll never be able to do something that important."
- I quickly forgot that all of the big things I did in the beginning of my Jump were the culmination of an exhaustive amount of little to do's. No, I haven't completed anything earth-shattering in the last week, but I am working on my stack of index cards.
- a) Stop being a whiny brat. b) I have a clearer idea of my career purpose now than I did six months ago. Progress.
- Shannon, Adam, and Stephanie's careers and causes didn't start out incredibly profound; they made them incredibly profound. No, there isn't a guarantee that I'll be at their level one day, but if I'm consumed in self-doubt, I am guaranteeing that I'll never stand a chance.
________________________
Although I do occasionally make alarmingly accurate predictions (seriously, ask my friends), I don't have a crystal ball. I can't predict exactly what my career future will look like, but I'm making changes today that will put me in the right direction. I'm making intentional decisions about how I spend my time and setting quantifiable, concrete goals.
Crystal ball? No thanks. I got this.
...plus, I'm clumsy. The ball wouldn't last a week, anyway ;)
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| My Do Over Journey |
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