Have you ever thought something like this? or know someone who has?:
'I got into (this line of work) because I seemed to have a natural aptitude for it...I never gave much thought to whether I enjoyed it or not, I just did it and opportunities came my way. And so, here I am, (20) years later...'
There are many of us who would explain our early career track decisions in a pretty similar way....supported by common conventional wisdom that encourages us to quickly find and build on our natural talents as an almost sure-fire route to lasting success and happiness.
"I'm good at this, ergo it's what I should do for a living."
But for some of us , it may not be as clear cut that what we are good at is necessarily the career path we should choose. But, we do it anyway because, well....because.
And the external rewards (money, titles, perks) cultivated from working your obvious talents can create a pretty happy veneer ...for a time. However, at some point, that veneer might begin to wear thin, with cracks emerging due to events that bring about introspective thinking like a job loss, a health scare, or even simply hitting a certain age.
Pay attention to those times, because they are the ideal time to ask yourself a few questions:
'Just because I'm good at (fill in the blank) and have had some measure of success at it, how content am I to spend the rest of my career doing that?'
'What have I discovered about myself these past (20) years that I realize I have an obvious personal level of passion for?'
And, if both questions lead you to look in a new direction, try this question:
'If not now.....when?'
Pay attention to how you answer that last one because it might be an 'ergo' way of thinking that is keeping you from getting beneath the veneer to re-discover something else that might be ready to be brought to life.
The quote above was taken from an exercise I completed while working with a coach 7 years ago addressing my own thinning veneer. I had spent 20+ years ambling through a career that brought me cool opportunities and nice rewards simply for doing things that I had some talent for. Then, I hit that mid-life spot where the veneer wore thin enough to allow me to see something underneath that would not tolerate being 'painted' over any longer. As I scratched at it, something surprising happened....I found additional talents that I had long forgotten were there.
If this message is resonating with you, I encourage you to stay with it. Take some time to scratch at the veneer to see what talents of yours might have been pushed aside in pursuit of an early career strategy.
It likely will feel awkward at first, but consider this:
Our greatest talents often lie buried out of site.
- Plautus
