Clues to a Successful Future
Often the clues to a successful future lie in looking at your past.
You might be wondering, “What on earth are you talking about?”
Let's start with the problem: Let's say that the problem you face is that you know you're not happy doing the work that you're doing. OK, that is a huge piece of information. That means you've decided that the problem is not that you need to move to a different company, which is an example of a different kind of problem.
If you don't have a clear picture of skills you have that you could be using, how do you figure them out?
Here's a technique you could use: Start by creating a list of about 20 enjoyable accomplishments from different parts of your life.
"Twenty enjoyable accomplishments" may sound like a lot. And it is. But it is important that you come up with a long list at first. Everything on your list doesn’t have to be stellar, but you need to come up with as many as you can, aiming for 20-25.
As you are looking back over your life to identify the examples for your list, the two most important things to pay attention to are "enjoyable" and "accomplishments." These aren't examples of activities or things you like doing. (Those could be descriptions of pastimes or hobbies.) We're looking for something juicier and more useful.
The best examples for this list are scenarios or situations when you encountered a challenge or problem and successfully dealt with it.
These could be examples of problems you faced and solved from your personal life, or from your work life. They could be examples from college, or from a job you had in the past. The examples could be from your family life. And yes, they could be examples that have to do with a hobby or pastime, but the important thing you're looking for is something you achieved -- a result you brought about that you could call an accomplishment.
Remember, the best examples for your list of enjoyable accomplishments are cases when you did several things (or just one single thing), and you got pleasure or had fun while you did those things. That is the process part -- you want to think about times you enjoyed the process AND you brought about a result.
Here are a few examples:
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Organized an especially successful fundraising event that raised $XXX dollars.
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Handled the communication for a family reunion or class reunion that brought together XXX number of people.
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Ran a race or competed successfully in an athletic event.
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Persuaded a family member to allow you to do something that they originally opposed you doing -- this could easily be an example from your childhood, or it could be from your life as an adult.
This is the first step in a process. I'll pick up the process in future posts.
Thank you for taking this time to look back on your life and come up with 10 (or 20!) enjoyable accomplishments.
(C) Copyright 2021 Roland Prevost and Integrity Tarot Consulting