Being Comfortable is a Career Killer

It’s a satisfying experience to finish something that you started.  Getting a degree, landing your first industry job, getting the promotion you were aiming for.  That sense of “arrival” tells us we have accomplished what we set out to do- not a bad feeling.  Over time that feeling of “arrival” slips a little.  We settle in to our place in life and our place in the workplace.  Sometimes we coast for long periods of time just knowing we have gotten where we are by the sweat of our brow.  We deserve to enjoy it, don’t we?

Sure- you did good…enjoy…but don’t get comfortable.  One you accept where you are it leads to complacency.  The small (yet significant) success we have had serves to rob rather than propel us to bigger things.

“The result of complacency is apathy… the soul-reeper of dreams”

The reality is that many of the helping professions have an abundance of potential clients.  People will always need medical care, specialized services, and qualified professionals.  For most industries we don’t have to look far to find our next client or patient.  They are lining up for help and it feels good to be in such high demand.

What happens in this environment is that we (you and I as credentialed professionals) don’t feel an obligation to move beyond this “waitlist” of need.  Why should we when the client list is never ending.  This is apathy and if you have become satisfied with who you are within your industry- you are in need of a reality shift.

“The reality is that professionals who are complacent in there practices have lost sight of their dreams.”

Colleges and associations focus us on achieving higher standards with our skill sets.  The  more you know the better you are….right.  Wrong. the more you know the more likely it is that you will confirm for yourself that you are just fine where you are.  Innovation and standards of care are often perceived as the mandate of legislators and therefore beyond the scope and role of professionals.

There is a fundamental piece that is missing that only you can address.  This piece is you.  Accumulative knowledge does not make you an expert.  It makes you valuable, sure.  What makes you an expert is your dedication to growing who you are as a person so that you can impact those who co me to you for help.

“Contrary to popular belief- the true ‘experts’ are people who dedicate their life’s work to impacting others.”

Your wait-list isn’t a sign that you are doing well in your industry.  It simply proves there is a need for you to meet. Neither are your Continuing Education credits from your college or association.  This just shows you are compliant to standards of industry expectations.  Real impact and real careers are made by those who dedicate time to growing themselves.

Reflection:

1. Have you used your wait-list as a way of defining your success?
2. Is “Continuing Education” defined by your yearly in-service attendance?
3. Have you become dangerously comfortable with where you are at?

If you have answered YES to any of the above perhaps I could suggest a change:

1. Set goals that are not about numbers served but focused on depth of change
2. Find and nurture ways to grow in your personal development beyond the accumulative knowledge expected of you.
3. get reacquainted with your dreams- they are just around the corner!

Don’t let apathy rob you of your opportunity to do the amazing things you were meant to do.  Feed your passion.  I can help.