Try for Direction, Not Destination
Diagnosing and Treating "Stuck"

Be a Career Inspiration, Not a Cautionary Tale

 

Throughout my working life, I've encountered people who made me think, "Kill me if I ever start acting and thinking that way." Generally these are people who are bitter and angry about their work, or who are so disengaged as to be practically dead. While I most notice those people who are aggressive about their career unhappiness, there are plenty of other people who simply disappear, I guess hoping to escape notice as their souls slowly shrivel up. 

At times, I've felt myself start to go down that road of deep unhappiness and pessimism. I see mostly problems, not possibilities and I focus on the suck, not the awesome. When my snark quotient goes way up and I find myself complaining constantly, I know that an attitude change is in order. 

As I continue on my journey to be more mindful and to engage in positive professional development, I find myself wanting to be more of a career inspiration, rather than a cautionary tale. I don't want people to walk away from interactions with me and think, "Please don't let me turn out that way. . . " 

In that vein, these 18 Ways to Inspire Everyone Around You gave me some good food for thought. Some of my favorites:

  • Be authentic and true to yourself.
  • Express your enthusiasm.
  • Care about people
  • Make people feel good about themselves
  • Articulate what everyone else is thinking
  • Share lessons from your successes and failures.
  • Help people heal--instead of judging people by their past, stand by them and help repair their future

These aren't always easy for me to do, but I'm committed to the idea of being the inspiration I want to see in the world. 

How do you inspire others? What has inspired you? 

 

 

Comments

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YOU inspire me, Michele. Someday, I hope to be back to inspiration!! Thank you.

Aww--thanks, Trish! You are definitely an inspiration too--you are so positive and upbeat and that's infectious. Don't lose it!

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