Do You Like Where You Are? If Not, Change May Be Necessary

By Christopher Mengel

In Dante's "The Commedia", the first tercet opens with, "In the middle of our life's walk I found myself in a dark wood for the straight road was lost."

We spend our youth in exploration and education. It's during this time that we run fast - and we have all the time and energy in the world to take big chances and seize every opportunity. It's here that we make our easiest mistakes and when we do, we tell ourselves rightly that we are learning from it and that it is all worth the experience. The opportunities here are smaller and usually don't require a large financial investment, and therefore the hole we dig in this stage is (most of the time) not a very big one. There are less long-term obligations here.

Then, we move into a later stage where the opportunities are much larger and while they require the same kinds of decisions regarding time and energy and money, the obligations are much greater and the timelines are longer. When we make a decision here, it usually involves a contract of some sort, much more money and time to see the opportunity through. Many of our resources are required to turn these opportunities into successes.

It's here that our earlier decisions began to move us down one path, and turn us away from other paths. For some, it starts at college when you receive your first credit card limit (at no cost to you) and you begin making minor career decisions out of financial obligations. (ie requiring more income or less) For others, it starts with the job you thought you needed to build a great resume instead of taking the job you loved. Many people now in this "middle of our life's walk" have not reconsidered their career options since. They simply continue down the same path. The only consideration was earlier in their life when they began their career. Is that enough? How have you changed? Don't you require a career tune-up?

For a life worth living, we are called to adapt and grow and develop during our life. Where are you today? Do you find yourself "in a dark wood" not knowing where to turn? Are you still making decisions based on your past? If so, you are not alone.

We are all capable of change and growth and while it can be hard, it can be done. If you are currently reevaluating your career, invest in yourself and consider the following:

- That you life's purpose is not a job description, it is a calling. What is your calling?
- That by aligning yourself with your core (your center), you will find peace. What is your core?
- That by doing what you love you will find happiness. What do you love?
- That you will gain more happiness with a focus on significance, meaning, purpose, and fulfillment than on success.

Success is self-focused, the other four have a focus outside yourself - and that does make all the difference. It would be a shame to enter the "middle of our life's walk" and know we are not centered or balanced and then do absolutely nothing about it - and later look back with regret. Are you still leveraging your past to serve your future or are you thoughtfully considering your life, and activating a plan to move forward? Are you building a paycheck or building a career life worth living? If you haven't considered this before and if you do feel something is not right, will you thoughtfully reevaluate your career and life with what you know now about yourself, or will you continue along the same old path, lost in the dark?

Consider that we have only one earthly life. Wouldn't it be a shame to get to the end of this life only to realize we lived using candlelight when all the while the sun was available.

Christopher Mengel, Razorwest, LLC

http://www.razorwest.com

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