#22: The 5 Game-Changing Questions I'm Asking Myself Before Every Career Move
Forget resolutions, intentions, and goals! This year it's all about evaluating my professional commitments.
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5 Game-Changing Questions I'm Asking Myself Before Every Career Move
Happy New Year, LOLers! How did 2024 sneak up on us so quickly?
Between having to vacate my apartment, find a new apartment in a week’s time, and move over New Year’s Weekend, my time for reflection this holiday season was nonexistent (unless you count a rewatching of Home Alone during which I made the terrifying discovery that I’m now older than Kevin’s parents 😱).
But alas, here we are. The New Year is banging down my door. Employers are ready to hire…NOW!
My life was pretty much entirely upended last year and I’m finally moving past the crippling fear and settling into my new reality with the understanding that it was “all for the best” (pardon the played out platitude). I’d even go so far as to say that I’m…excited….about what this year has in store while standing firmly in the knowledge that despite all my best efforts, so many things are totally out of my control.
Resolutions, intentions, goals — call them what you will — didn’t seem like quite the exercise for me after this past year.
Resolutions imply decision-making. Intentions let you off the hook. Goals are linked to results.
There are seasons in life. Sometimes you’re tilling the soil, sometimes you’re planting the seeds, sometimes you’re reaping the harvest, and sometimes you’re in search of an entirely new plot of land to grow your crops on. That’s where I am. Trying to find terra firma to rebuild my career exactly the way I want it to be.
The word that’s been resonating for me this year is “commitment” because it’s wholehearted and concrete without being outcome-oriented. It comes from the Latin word committere which means "to unite, connect, combine; to bring together."
For my start-of-year reflection, I took a couple of steps back from the resolution industrial complex. Before thinking deeply about what I want to accomplish this year, I thought about what I want to commit to and more specifically, how to evaluate whether a professional opportunity be it a gig, a client, or a full-time job is aligned for me.
What I came up with is a handy list of questions to ask myself when evaluating professional commitments:
Does it bring me joy? The big light bulb that went off for me was the realization that I don’t have to accept any work I’m not genuinely excited about. Revolutionary, right? I’m lucky in the sense that I currently have some options when it comes to projects and clients. That means I can make the choice to only pursue work that sparks joy.
My previous role, as much as I excelled at it, was not filled day-to-day with work that sparked joy. And duh, that was making me unhappy and draining my energy. Now I have to chance to rebuild brick-by-brick with only work that I enjoy. That means turning down offers that might be great but are not great for me.
Is there an equitable valuation of my time? And speaking of turning down work, another rubric by which I’m evaluating commitments this year is compensation. This doesn’t mean that I’m all about the 💰💰💰. It just means that I need to feel joyful about the work AND at peace with the commensurate compensation for that work.
Plain and simple, my time needs to be properly valued, and that proper valuation is determined by me. No more working for free because it might lead to something in the future and no more scarcity mindset of “I better take this thing I’m not jazzed about in case nothing else comes along.” I’m letting that 💩 go.
Am I doing it because I think I should? Any other people pleasers out there? ✋🏼 Why do we absolutely love to say YES to everything? Because it makes us feel needed and important. I don’t want to be needed or important anymore. I want to be powerful and self-actualized. That’s why I’m leaning into boundary hygiene this year and giving myself permission to say NO without guilt! 🙌🏼
Saying YES to things I want to say NO to has only led me down a dark-sided path where I end up overcommitted, burnt out, spread too thin, and resentful as hell. Just because I can do something, or somebody wants me to do something, doesn’t mean I should. I need to get that needlepointed on a pillow!
Am I learning something? Does an opportunity appeal to me because it’s in my comfort zone or out of my comfort zone? Either answer is fine as far as I’m concerned. But the key is evaluating if I think I can learn and grow from the experience. Interpret that however you want to. Whether that’s skill set growth or personal growth, I want it!!
Is it “cruise?” There was a documentary that came out a million years ago called The Cruise, which follows Timothy "Speed" Levitch, a NYC bus tour guide unlike any other.
The Cruise takes its title from Levitch’s personal life philosophy, which categorizes situations and experiences in the binary of “cruise” or “anti-cruise.” When things are “cruise,” you’re living life in a way that promotes expansiveness, fulfillment, and beauty. When things are“anti-cruise,” they are fraught with paralysis, obstacles, and blind conformity.
Basically, I have been chewing on this concept for the last 20 years. As applied to my career, it means I have to ask myself, how does this opportunity feel? What’s the energy around it? If the answer is “anti-cruise,” it’s a hard pass.
How do you determine what commitments are aligned to your goals? Drop a comment below👇🏼:
Read more:
Worthy Time Wasters
Here are my weekly recs to combat doom scrolling.
I had a period piece void to fill after The Gilded Age ended and The Buccaneers did the trick! If The Gilded Age and Bridgerton had a baby based on an Edith Wharton novel, this would be it. Set in the 1870s, the story follows five nouveau riche American women and their entree into London’s high society as they deal with culture clashes, friendship, love, and the institution of marriage. If you find yourself in need of a fluffy escape with lots of corsets, this is the one.
📺 Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Reunion Part 1
SPOILER ALERT: Hoo boy! The RHOSLC finale was epic and so were the ensuing memes. I’m adding it to my personal RH top of the tops canon along with a few other mind-blowing episodes like RHONY’s Scary Island and RHOBH’s Dinner Party from Hell. (I still think about Allison DuBois and the e-cigarette all the time.) Now that Monica’s true identity has been revealed, Reality Von Tease has some explaining to do. Also, the reprise of Heather’s black eye mystery requires some further unpacking. And where the hell was Mary during all of this? So many questions that I need answered! This is my SuperBowl! I’ll be tailgating all day today!
🥣 Classic Lone Star Beef Chili
Speaking of tailgating…listen, I’m not going to pretend like I cook. But I do love to eat! This Lone Star beef chili the first meal we cooked in our new apartment and it was perfect for cozying up in winter weather. Bonus: Leftovers can be used as a pasta or nacho topper. Best believe I’ll be eating both of those dishes, but which one will I eat while watching RHOSLC? That is the question.
Linkapalooza
This week’s most clickable bits n’ bobs.
This is the Golden Globes moment everyone is talking about? Really!? //FOMO has been rebranded as JOMO // This 13-year-old who beat Tetris is the 2024 icon we deserve // My queen Parker Posey has officially joined the cast of White Lotus S3 // The Great Exhaustion is upon us // And if you are a causality of The Great Exhaustion, you can embark on the 6-Day Energy Challenge // Forget about the Epstein documents, let’s talk about Redditor Maxwellhill // Remember how a piece of that Alaska Airlines plane just fell off? Well, it turned up in Portland // Monica from RHOSLC is being hailed as an all-time great reality TV villain, but the big question is should she be fired? // People are using LinkedIn to look for love 👀 // Nubz the chicken was missing toes so people started sending him tiny little shoes ☠️ //
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