Don't Panic! Tiny Habits That Make A Resilient Career
The majority of us go to work to raise our families and maintain our lifestyles. If you have been in the workforce, you have likely experienced layoffs, reorganizations or worked for people who fill you with dread. We have all experienced the fear of being let go or having to make soul sucking decisions to pay the mortgage. Our analytical minds step in to create the rationalizations and excuses to bury the fear and apprehension. Yes, you can change your mindset to make any situation tolerable. However, you also can create a life that exceeds your dreams and leaves tolerable in the dust.
There are three simple things I focus on that give me flexibility and security in how I support my family.
1) Love
2) Connection
3) Freedom
These concepts may seem rudimentary and yet overwhelming. However, by incorporating small habits in your everyday life, you will soon find yourself in an ideal position to follow your heart’s desire.
First is LOVE. You have to love what you do. If you love what you do then you will naturally want to learn everything you can about it. You'll be drawn to people, classes, books that are related to it. Time will no longer exist, as you will find yourself in The Zone whenever you are performing this work. Creative ideas or solutions will appear right when you need them. You will be rewarded as your work will stand out because the level of effort you put forth will be greater than those who don't. And when things get tough or boring, because they will, you'll be able to draw on the hours of pleasure or remember the rewards of when you toughed it out the last time.
So, how do you figure out what you love to do? And what if that love changes over time? We have this funny cultural custom of asking children, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" with the underlying message that there will be one occupation that will rule their adult life. Furthermore, many of our jobs require knowledge and experience acquired over time. We are rewarded accordingly, yet trap ourselves by increasing our financial needs in lock step. I applaud disciplined souls that live below their means, however, the majority of us are willing victims of advertising and like a little Gucci in our lives.
Australian Aborigines have a different approach. An Aborigine will be given a different name throughout their lifetime. Their name is based on skill they have mastered and are sharing with the tribe at that time. Furthermore, they don't celebrate an individual's birthday, they celebrate the individual when the individual announces the mastery of a new skill. Since I doubt that anyone reading this was raised by Aborigines, how do you figure out what you love and make career transitions that will let you put your kids through college and have a jet-setting retirement?
My friend and mentor, Steve Phillips, gave me this advice. Whenever I'm doing something that is fun, exciting or where time disappears, make a mental note of it. Imagine a little flag or lightbulb going off and capture whatever it is that I'm doing. Capture the fundamentals. You might be in several conversations throughout the day. Which ones were most engaging and stimulating to you? Why? What tasks do you "get into"? You might not like to start the task, but once you do there is no stopping you.
Once you have a good list of things you love, figure out how to do more of that. There is a good chance that over time you can adapt your current role so that 80% of your time is spent on stuff you love. If your current job isn't the right situation to do that, then start planning on how to change where or what you are doing. This is where CONNECTION and FREEDOM come in.
CONNECTION. Make building connection with others a habit. It doesn't need to be forced and you don't need to be an extrovert. Take advantage of the fact that whatever you do, you work with other people. Find someone you admire, like or that has a common interest. Make an effort to get to know them. Ask them for advice. Invite them to grab lunch or simply find them to walk to a meeting you might have together.
Besides the people you interact with daily, there are people from your past that you likely befriended. Make it a habit to stay in touch. While it's fun to see what people are up to, it is also very easy to feel too busy to build connections. It is also easy to rely on our small family units and core group of friends to satisfy social cravings. In addition to a healthier, happier life as proven by Harvard, you need to think of the time spent building connections is an investment in your career.
At one point in my career I was so busy and isolated I gave myself two goals. First, for at least one hour every two weeks I had to meet with someone in person socially. This included an easy cheat of going out to lunch with a friend at work. Second, for 10 minutes a week I would reach out to someone I hadn't interacted with for the last 3 months. This included sending a text, saying Hi over social media or forwarding something funny that made me think of them.
Chances are there will be an opportunity for you to help them, whether it be through connecting them to someone you know or sending them an interesting article or book title. I start by thinking of the things I like, such as Marvel Movies, skiing or reading, and reaching out to people who like those same things. Are they buying an IKON or EPIC pass next year? What book was life changing for them? Would they rather be/date Captain America or Thor?
Not only does maintaining your connections make your life richer. There is a better chance they will think of you when they hear about interesting opportunities. It also makes it natural for you to reach out to them when you are looking for a different job or need advice or a connection.
Social media makes it so easy! You can already see what they are up to, so start a conversation or congratulate them. Build the habit of investing 10-15 minutes a week with a micro-habit of putting it on your calendar. To make it even easier, pick a time of day when you typically want a break.
FREEDOM. When I started dating, my parents, besides intimidating the guy, made sure I had taxi money so I always had the freedom to walk away from an undesirable situation. Save enough to have "Taxi Money". You need to have enough cash on hand to cover the time it takes you to find a new job. There is a guideline that you should have a month's worth of savings for every $10,000 you earn. You need to determine what the right amount is for you, based on:
The freedom in being able to tell someone "You are not the boss of me!" is worth putting aside a small amount until you hit your "Taxi Money" goal. Make it easy on yourself by setting up a separate savings account that a small amount of your paycheck automagicly goes into. When you hit a $5,000-10,000 milestone, move it into a CD so you won't be tempted to use it.
The point of power is now. Everything you do starting now will impact your future. Don't worry if you haven't done any of these things before. Don't waste energy feeling bad about the past. What matters is what you do as soon as you finish reading this article. Jim Rohn states eloquently, "Here's the time to act: when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong". Make a commitment to start noticing and listing things you enjoy, carve out specific time to connect and start a "Taxi Money" fund. Even the smallest action is important as everything affects everything. Take charge of your own possibilities and program flexibility into your life.
For me, life has a way of teaching me lessons by starting out with a whisper and escalating intensity and unpleasantness until it has my arm twisted behind my back and a gun pointed at my head. After a few back-alley encounters, I've learned to pay attention to the whispers. If you are reading this and you have a job, then figure this is your whisper. If you are part of the 6M+ folks filing for COV-19 unemployment and are unprepared to weather to next few months, then life has you in an arm bar. Recognize the wake-up call and build new habits so you can not only graduate from the lesson, but are stronger and better for it.
Would love to hear about how you've built more flexibility into your life and have found a path to your life's passions. Share in the comments!
Special thanks to Patricia Madden for editing support.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash