One of my favorite quotes comes from Helen Keller who at 19 months of age became blind and deaf. When asked about her feelings about her disability she responded and said,
“I’d rather have vision with no sight, then sight without vision.”
I love this quote for its application to a growing professional. One of the hardest part about growing as a professional is to keep perspective on your career VISION no matter what your SIGHT reveals about your current state or environment. For job seekers the process is tough because one can feel like there is no progress until a job is landed. For an employed professional, one can have an emotional low after a tough day at work and not feel like he or she is moving forward in their career until either a new job is landed or a promotion is granted.
For both a job seeker and an employed professional, the perspective must always be kept on the VISION of the accomplished goal and not on the SIGHT of momentary failures. Despite Helen Keller disability she was still able to publish 12 books and become a national celebrity.
I have 5 main steps to always keeping perspective on the VISION of tomorrow and not the SIGHT of today.
- Decide on a vision. Think about where you want to be in 5 to 10 years. Imagine the experience of that vision being a reality.
- Make a 1 year goal. Break your vision down to where you need be in 1 year to be on track for it in 5 years.
- Respect the process. There is always a process between getting from where you are today to being where you want to be. Respect the process of getting there. You can respect your process the same way you would respect the process of a newborn baby learning to walk. You wouldn’t get frustrated with the baby not walking after only being only 2 months old.
- Celebrate your Victories. Each time you achieve a new milestone in your process take time to acknowledge yourself for doing so. You’ve gotten one step closer to your vision.
- Remind yourself of your Vision daily. Take 1 minute each day to meditate daily on your vision. This will constantly keep you aware of the reason for your working progress.
