Never Sit Still In Your Career

When it comes to your career, it is tempting to sit still. You’ve found something that pays well, and you’re good at it, so you wonder whether there is any point in taking new risks. You are in a good place right now. You don’t want to rock the boat.

Sitting still in your career, however, is a risk in itself. Remember, the world is always changing. New opportunities are coming to fruition while old ones are passing by the wayside. The job market never remains stagnant. Technology continually disrupts which skills are valuable and which are not. 

Many career-orientated people commit to the concept of “lifelong learning.” The idea here is to continually evolve as a person, learning new things as your career requires them. 

A lot of workers will learn fundamental concepts in their discipline and conclude that they now have the skills that they need for the rest of their working lives. Rarely, though, is that the case. People regularly discover that their industry is moving forward without them, and they risk being left behind – never a fun experience. 

You can move your career forward in many ways, no matter what industry you occupy. Let’s say you are a real estate agent, and you’re looking for a new feather to add to your cap. With the rise of Homeowners Associations, getting a CAM license is a good idea. It allows you to take over the management of HOAs and deliver value to residents and investors. 

Similarly, if you are law, you might want to move from criminal to IP law. We’re now moving into an era where the most valuable aspect of firms is their ideas. Companies are continually on the lookout for people who can help protect their interests and keep their intellectual property safe. 

Sitting still with your career is also a bad idea on a personal level, regardless of your industry. When you sit on your hands, life starts to feel a little stagnant and less exciting than it once was. As people, we continually need something to strive for to make our lives feel meaningful. If there’s nothing new on the horizon except a long grind to retirement, it puts you mentally in a negative place. You can’t move forward and achieve your destiny. 

Comfort is good at times, but it can become a millstone around your neck. If you believe that minimizing pain is the way to lead your life, you’ll inevitably wind up with more of it. 

Think about the person who doesn’t look after their health by eating right and taking exercise. In the short term, it feels good to eat pizza and watch Netflix. Going to the gym and cooking healthy soups is nowhere near as much fun. In the long-run, though, the couch potato suffers. They wind up with health problems that are far worse than the discomfort of exercise or eating veggies. 

The same applies to work. Avoiding risks and sitting still creates pain later on – and you don’t want that!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

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