Fail To Plan or PTF
Do you really have to plan out everything in your life? This question get batted around in my brain along with many others. I love to plan. I love to write plans, think about planning, anticipate all the possible angles of what might happen in any given aspect of a plan. This is me. It is what I have always done and I really don't want to change that very much. This is how I keep all the balls going in the air every day.
What if I stopped planning? What would happen? I think I would shrivel up and die but would I?
I am sure I would not really shrivel up and die but I might learn a solid lesson that has been used by some job searchers forever. Many, many people don't really plan for their careers. A career just happens to sneak up on them when they least expect it. Once it does, some people are then relatively or extremely happy for the rest of their working lives. Others are not. The career takes them down a path they don't really like and they put up with it in misery for the rest of their careers.
To plan or not? I say no and yes. I think it is very important to plan out a direction you want to go in or try out. With this in mind, it will help you steer your career car in a direction. You won't really know if it is right direction until AFTER you have been doing it for a while. This after-the-fact / hind-sight perspective is really what directs great career choices. If you have tried out a new gig for a while and you like it, keep going. It will probably turn out to be a great future as long as it is not centered on the amount of money you are making. If you don't like what you are doing, then move on to something else. This type of planning is a balance between doing it ahead of time or after the facts are all in. Both are planning. Both will help steer your career in the right direction.
The moral of this story is: if you plan too much, you will loose the flexibility of "chance happenings." If you don't plan enough, you will loose control. The sweet spot is in the middle, somewhere determined by you. If you are a planner like me, stop planning as much and let some things happen to you and see where they can take you. If you are not a planner, start planning a little more and see where this structure takes you. Both ways are good.
I know I seem to be advocating balance here, that was not my intention even though it is what I am saying. Sometimes it is good to get your career out of whack for a while to help assist you in finding what is right for you. So balance, yes and balance, no.
Let's Get Started!
Jeff
What if I stopped planning? What would happen? I think I would shrivel up and die but would I?
I am sure I would not really shrivel up and die but I might learn a solid lesson that has been used by some job searchers forever. Many, many people don't really plan for their careers. A career just happens to sneak up on them when they least expect it. Once it does, some people are then relatively or extremely happy for the rest of their working lives. Others are not. The career takes them down a path they don't really like and they put up with it in misery for the rest of their careers.
To plan or not? I say no and yes. I think it is very important to plan out a direction you want to go in or try out. With this in mind, it will help you steer your career car in a direction. You won't really know if it is right direction until AFTER you have been doing it for a while. This after-the-fact / hind-sight perspective is really what directs great career choices. If you have tried out a new gig for a while and you like it, keep going. It will probably turn out to be a great future as long as it is not centered on the amount of money you are making. If you don't like what you are doing, then move on to something else. This type of planning is a balance between doing it ahead of time or after the facts are all in. Both are planning. Both will help steer your career in the right direction.
The moral of this story is: if you plan too much, you will loose the flexibility of "chance happenings." If you don't plan enough, you will loose control. The sweet spot is in the middle, somewhere determined by you. If you are a planner like me, stop planning as much and let some things happen to you and see where they can take you. If you are not a planner, start planning a little more and see where this structure takes you. Both ways are good.
I know I seem to be advocating balance here, that was not my intention even though it is what I am saying. Sometimes it is good to get your career out of whack for a while to help assist you in finding what is right for you. So balance, yes and balance, no.
Let's Get Started!
Jeff
posted by Jeff at
12:48 PM
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