Tag Archives: comfort zone

Una versión groovy

GroovyBuscando quitarme la reputación de aguafiestas, propongo un repensamiento masivo de la frase popular  “Todo lo bueno en la vida tiene un fin…”  La versión groovy que propongo es “Todo en la vida es impermanente.”

Es decir, tanto lo bueno como lo malo se acaba. Y eso no es ni bueno ni malo – solo es.  (Relee esto cuantas veces necesites para entender que así es.)

Y eso ¿que tiene que ver con tu carrera?

Simplemente que todo – incluyendo tu carrera – esta en constante estado de cambio. Y eso, mas que cualquier otra cosa, representa oportunidades para ti.  Entonces, para ayudarte a sacar el mejor provecho a la naturaleza impermanente del universo – y de tu carrera – te invito a considerar que: 

  1. El fin de un ciclo trae la oportunidad de un nuevo comienzo.  Aunque la tendencia es ver los finales como ocasiones tristes, en realidad los finales son el comienzo de algo nuevo.  Piensa en eso cuando le dices adiós a un proceso.  Y dale la bienvenida a lo nuevo que te espera.
  2. Cambiar es aprender.  Una manera efectiva de prepararse para ese nuevo comienzo es mirar bien a las lecciones que te dejo el camino anterior.  Esas lecciones te servirán como herramientas para sobresalir en el nuevo ciclo. Siendo así, aprende a tomar inventarios mentales.
  3. Las transiciones ocurren lentamente.  Aunque existen los cambios abruptos, usualmente el fin de un proceso toma su tiempo.  Tiempo suficiente para reflexionar y prepararse para el nuevo ciclo que empieza.  Aprovecha ese tiempo.
  4. La flexibilidad se aprende con la práctica.  Es posible que las primeras veces que estés expuesto al cambio lo sientas algo traumático. Te garantizo que con el tiempo, dejaras de sentir esa incomodidad. Posiblemente llegaras al punto donde necesites del cambio para sentir tranquilidad.

Si sigues agarrado con las uñas a tu estado actual, suplicando estar atrapado en el tiempo porque piensas que cambiar será el fin del mundo, y de tu carrera, te invito a que te imagines un mundo estático.  Donde todo es igual y día tras día, año tras año nada cambia.  Todo es predecible.  Apuesto a que no soy la única que siento escalofríos con esa visión.  Namaste.

 

Gracias Digital Photography School por la foto tan groovy.

Solo para introvertidos

Jump¿Acaso hay que saltar con paracaídas de una avioneta, nadar con tiburones o saltar de un puente con una cuerda Bunji  – para ser considerado una persona arriesgada? 

Obvio que hacer deportes extremos es una forma de tomar riesgos en la vida (y de arriesgar la vida) – mas no es la única.  Además vale cuestionar que exactamente se busca alcanzar por medio de tomar ese tipo de riesgos.  ¿Un high de adrenalina?

Con eso en mente, te presento otra clase de riesgos – los silenciosos.  Estos son riesgos que muchos tomamos a diario – buscando trascender nuestros límites personales.  Y buscando alcanzar nuestras metas profesionales. Es decir, son riesgos que pocos ven y por lo tanto pocos admiran.

Siendo así, aquí te presento algunos de los riesgos silenciosos que los empleados del mundo toman día a día – para que pongas mas atención – y tu también tomes acción:

  • Cambiar de trabajo es un riesgo. Arriesgamos el progreso de nuestra carrera.
  • Acercarnos a un cliente prospecto es un riesgo.  Arriesgamos ser rechazados.
  • Presentar en público es un riesgo.  Arriesgamos equivocarnos.  
  • Exigir mas al jefe es un riesgo.  Arriesgamos ponerlo en nuestra contra. 
  • Pedirle a un colega que respete nuestras necesidades es un riesgo. Arriesgamos perder su apoyo.

Entonces no pienses que eres temerosa porque no buscas tomar riesgos extrovertidos. 

Ábrete a la posibilidad de que eres una junky de adrenalina – que empujas tus limites personales, pero de forma silenciosa. 

Y acuérdate que al tomar riesgos silenciosos estas alcanzando metas. Metas que no alcanzarías arriesgando tu vida saltando con paracaídas de una avioneta – actividad que recomiendo – si solo es un high de adrenalina lo que buscas.

Ahora si, ¡sácale provecho a esta semana!

 

Te gusta la foto? Gracias Stephane Giner.

¿Que hay mas allá del borde?

JumpSiento miedo. Claro que siento miedo. 

¿O piensas que porque escribo un blog acerca de varios temas – entre ellos lo vital que es enfrentar nuestros miedos – no siento miedo?  ¿Acaso como crees que sé que es importante enfrentar miedos – en el camino a alcanzar nuestras metas? Simplemente porque lo he vivido con mi propia piel.  Por eso es que se.

Entonces hoy me doy permiso de sentir miedo – y de confesárselo al mundo. 

Siento miedo de que no alcance metas que me he propuesto y para las cuales he desarrollado planes y estrategias.  ¿Que tal si fracaso – aun así después de tanto esfuerzo, dedicación, intención y compromiso?

Que susto ¿ah?

Si, siento susto – también siento mucho gusto.

Me da gusto saber que independiente de los resultados que obtenga – le estoy dando lo mejor de mí a mi vida.  Que constantemente estoy buscando vivir con mi mejor versión.  Expresando mis fortalezas al máximo, retándome, extendiendo mis límites, aprendiendo sin cesar.

Así sé que, gane o pierda, viví al máximo – y sin arrepentimiento.

Si por otro lado, no lo intento – o si nivelo mis expectativas con mis miedos – aunque alcance esas metas mas bajas – eso solo dejara arrepentimiento.  Y jamás descubriré que hay mas allá del borde, cual es mi potencial , o que hubiera sido realmente posible. Jamás. (ouch!)

Entonces con mis miedos y demás defectos abordo – y claro esta con mis fortalezas y demás cualidades – me voy con toda.  Así es que puedo garantizar que no me arrepentiré de cómo viví mi vida – esta única que nos han dado.

Cuéntame, ¿que hay mas allá de tu borde?

Buena foto, ah? Gracias flickr

Making change your new comfort (for a change)

This is my horoscope for the month of February 2008 – the month that I resigned from my job as a national sales and marketing manager to write full-time – I thought it would be worth keeping.

“SCORPIO Your ruler Pluto is introducing a new cycle into your life, which can only take place every 240 years. You can expect a whole new world of connections to open up this year, with early signs this month.” (from Vogue)

Did you get that?  “A new cycle…which can only take place every 240 years.” That explains it all.

Not that I believe astrology is the be all and end all, but it seems to be the only place where I can find an explanation for the amount of change that’s taking place all around me.

And I’m not talking about the type of change that makes the headlines – like the ‘rapid’ change in technology and medical innovation. I’m talking about those quiet spots where I did not expect to see change in a million years.  I’m talking about those people who seemed to have job endurance and much higher career stamina than I do – and because of it, it looked like they were going to stay in their jobs and careers for much longer than they have. 

There’s the entrepreneur who set up an entire production plant 10 years ago to manufacture disposable medical products.  He recently sold it and is now looking for a change. Last time we spoke, he didn’t know exactly what he was going to do.  Understand that this is someone who supposedly had his life mapped out as an industrialist. He was not supposed to change.  Then there’s the well-paid brand manager at an FMCG – with an MBA from a top school under his belt – who quit his job to work in a government agency.  He, who had a ‘bright career’ ahead of him in the corporate world, was not supposed to change either.  Then there’s this executive in the finance sector who developed his career at an international level who recently quit to do…he doesn’t know what yet, but he’s sure that he wants a change.  And my favourite one of all is the doctor who studied and worked for years to become an oncologist and gave it up to become a public speaker.  I mean, come on, she had what a lot of people see as a noble job, saving lives. Nope, that was not enough for her. She too needed a change.

Why am I so surprised? And maybe you’re not? Because until very recently I have been considered by my network of friends (check it out on facebook) as a hopeless job hopper.  With 12 jobs and two careers (and a 3rd one emerging) already under my belt in a decade, I can’t necessarily disagree that I’ve hopped around. But I’d like to think that I’m far from hopeless.  

Being that in the past 5 years the three times that I’ve switched jobs, I’ve increased my salary by 30% (that’s a 30% pay rise every 14 months) and each time I’ve been promoted to positions with higher responsibility, I like to consider myself a strategic job hopper. 

Because I believe in sharing the wealth, below I share with you my top guiding principles as a strategic job hopper:

  1. Work with an employer, not for them.  Admittedly this is merely a play on words, but believing that as an employee I work with an employer not for them, has been the lynchpin of my career.  This approach to work is what allows me to feel that I’m in control of my career and the master and commander of my own ship.  I see resigning from a job a naturally occurring change of course, not an underhanded ship jump.
  2. Have a plan:  Having dreams of your own and a solid plan to make them happen places you in the seat of power of your career. Without either one, you run the risk of being at the mercy of an employer’s agenda and of wasting your life working to help others reach their goals. Personally, for the past ten years I’ve planned my life in 5-year chunks.  I’ve found that this time-frame is just right for my needs.  It’s long enough to give me the vision that I need in order to stay on track and it’s not too long as to make me feel over-committed.
  3. Focus on transferable skills:  It breaks my heart every time that someone says to me: “I want to change but this is all I know.”  I feel like yelling to them: “Wake up!”  Unless you’re planning on doing something as specialized as brain surgery – and even then – there is no such thing as starting from scratch.  The world does not work that way.  If you look and think hard enough, you’ll be able to identify skills that you already have that carry over to other jobs, professions, companies, industries.  I’ve worked in the fashion, restaurant, medical, finance/insurance, and IT industries in as many roles, and I have always found that a big chunk of my experience and skills carry over.  Knowing that regardless of what I choose to do I’m never starting from scratch is in large part what has given me the cojones* to change jobs and careers as many times as I have.
  4. Be open and able to learn quickly:  Learning is an inevitable part of the change process. Heck, even if you stay at your current job you need to learn new things.  Of course the requirement to learn increases significantly when you change jobs (and companies) and yet again when you change industries and even more if you change careers.  I’ve done all of those in the past decade and I can tell you that the steepest climb takes place during the first three months. I’m not exactly sure why, but almost on the dot, like clockwork, things begin to feel better at the end of month 3, and then again at month 6. What this means is if you can endure 3 months, max 6 months, of intense brain stimulation, you’ll make it over the hill.  Trust me.  And by the way, I’ve found that sleeping 8 hours every night usually helps my brain take it all in during those times when it’s being bombarded with new information.
  5. Be open to learning from mistakes:  Mistakophobia (intense fear of mistakes) is up there with cancer as one of the worse afflictions in our society.  It’s those who are afraid of making mistakes who never learn and consequently never grow.  It’s those same people – the mistakophobic – who tend not to change. The reality is that when you step out of your comfort zone, the risk of making mistakes increases.  It follows, that to be able to change, a healthy attitude to making mistakes will go a long way.  Being able to accept your mistakes, learn from them and get on with things quickly is crucial.  The key is to be able to recognize what went wrong – with the sole purpose of preventing the mistake from happening again – and to be able to quickly get back on the bike again.
  6. Have an open mind: It’s vital that you’re able to accept that when you change courses, things may feel uncomfortable at first. Trust me, given time (and I mean 6 months tops), things will feel more comfortable. In the mean time, keep it lite. Nothing is the end of the world. Not even getting fired from a new-found job because in my book that would be an opportunity to learn something new.

I say, keep the change, the lessons and the experiences coming!

What do you have to say?

*cojones: Spanish slang meaning to have courage, chutzpah or guts