Posts Tagged with The Own Your Core Project

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You Agree To Be Narrowly Defined By The Outside World

You live in a world that expects you to make a choice about who you will be. For many, this happens at age 18 with the decision about what to study in college.  Your decision narrows the schools you apply to.  For example, if you plan to study Economics, you wouldn’t apply to a Performing Arts school.  Your decision also dictates the courses you take to satisfy graduation requirements. After college, you apply to jobs that fit what you studied. In your career, you hone in your focus with time and as you ascend the career ladder.  You become a specialist and expert in your chosen field.

Let’s assume you’re on our way to become an expert in a given field. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell notes that in order to become world-class in any field, you need 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice.”  If this is true, then presumably you have little time to do anything else.  So you become a one-trick pony with tunnel vision and no other interests.

Society crafted this approach and set expectations a long time ago.  And you’ve obliged and followed along.  Let’s look at a few scenarios:

Job Applications.  When you apply for a job, how much do you tailor your resume and story to align with the job description? People squeeze themselves and their experiences into exactly what the requirements describe.  You become a surgeon overnight, making cosmetic and reconstructive changes.  You transplant wording from the job description to your resume.  You present yourself as if, for your entire life, you’ve longed to be a Regional Account Manager at this particular company or an Executive Assistant providing administrative support to the CEO.  All of your experience is crafted to support this story on your newly updated resume.

LinkedIn Headlines.  Before someone learns anything about you on LinkedIn, they see your photo, name and headline.  Most of the headlines I see on LinkedIn have one thing in common – they include the person’s job title.  If you’re one of these LinkedIn users, you’re introduced by what you do.  Further, you’re defined by a job title that your employer has a current need and role for.  This only gives insight into what you do.  It tells me what you’re currently an expert in or what you’re on your way to being an expert in.

Here are some examples from scrolling through LinkedIn profiles:

So what do we see in both of these scenarios?

In the job applications scenario, it is clear that society has defined molds and you’ve been trained to fit into them.  You’ve prescribed to this expectation and go out of your way to tailor yourself to fit more snugly into these molds.

In the LinkedIn headlines scenario, you define yourself by your employer’s current need.  You eagerly take on this definition and apply it to who you are. You then present yourself to the world this way. When you change jobs, you switch out who you are like seasonal clothing.

How do you allow who you are to be defined by what you do? How true and authentic is this? Further, how sustainable is it? What happens if your employer no longer has a need for your role?  If who you are is defined by your job title at your current employer, then are you a different person once you have a new title at a new employer?

According to your LinkedIn profile, you have a new job and today you are:

Yesterday you were:

Are you OK allowing yourself to be narrowly defined by the outside world?  What about the other aspects of you, aside from what you do? Why don’t you make it a priority to highlight your multiple interests and dynamic being?

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I look forward to continuing to explore this topic. I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Do you feel defined by your current role and title? Do you think this definition is fitting for who you are? Does who you work for give you a sense of self?

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Six Ways To Manage Your Multiple Interests

Are you a multipotentialite? If so, then you know that having multiple interests adds variety and meaning to each day.  These interests can range from music, interior design projects, a stamp collection, history or photography.  Multiple interests aren’t just for the artsy types. Anyone can have multiple interests including people with traditional careers such as doctors, lawyers or engineers.  It is just a matter of recognizing these interests and finding a way to incorporate them in your life.

So how do you make that happen? Being true to yourself and ensuring these interest are present in your life can be challenging. Here are some considerations and strategies to get the fulfillment you need:

1. Manage and prioritize your time.  This is key if your interests aren’t part of your day-to-day via a career, job, vocation etc.  Make sure to prioritize time for yourself that will allow you to pursue your interests.  For example, you may need to pass on the impromptu happy hour after work if that means missing your painting class.

2. Schedule your interests. If you have multiple interests, you can allocate time for each during the course of the week. Schedule time on Monday for running, on Tuesday for tutoring and on Wednesday for learning French.  A predictable cadence will help keep you accountable.  Set up reminders if you need to!

3. Designate different locations. If you’re transitioning from one interest to another, it helps to change your location. This will help you mentally prepare so when you step into the garage, your brain knows you’re getting ready to build the bookshelf.

4. Involve others. Your interests are personal but depending on what they are, you may be able to do them with others or with an organization that has the same focus. For example, you can learn Spanish alone or you can participate in a weekly coffee hour on Saturdays to practice with others.

5. Distinguish been fleeting and long-term interests. You’ll outgrow some interests and that’s OK. Others will be intrinsic to who you are, last a lifetime, and lead to greater opportunities. Learn to tell the difference between what’s a fad and long-lasting so you know when to pivot and where to devote more focus.

6. Be flexible. As things change, including your list of interests, be adaptable and flexible.  The more you learn and discover, new interests will come your way and you’ll want to have enough space to explore them.

Exploring multiple interests is possible when you manage your time effectively and get organized.  Prioritize designated time as you do with anything else that is important to you. Jim Rohn said it best:

If you really want to do something, you‘ll find a way. If you don’t, you‘ll find an excuse.

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Are you a multipotentialite? How do you manage your multiple interests?  Do you use different strategies than the suggestions above?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Goal Pillars: Choose the Foundation of the Life You Want

We love the outside reinforcement that comes with a new year and the opportunity it presents to start fresh.  We are gifted a clean slate with 52 untouched weeks, 12 blank months and 365 (or 366) days to start over.  We get another chance at realizing the goals that weren’t prioritized before. In the spirit of being hopeful and positive, we shake off what was and look forward to what will be when we do things better this time around.

Common goals include getting fit, eating healthy, losing weight, saving money, or spending more time with family and friends. Each year, these goals have a 12/31 target date, but they usually go unachieved by the time 12/31 rolls around.  Why is that? Why is it that these “important” goals don’t motivate us enough to achieve them? Why do we have these goals in the first place? Maybe the why isn’t very clear and doesn’t give these goals a higher purpose and greater meaning.

I created a framework using goal pillars to address this.  Each pillar is something you prioritize in order to have a fulfilled life and together they provide balance. Goal pillars facilitate the creation of the best version of yourself and support the overall lifestyle you want.  You can use this framework to simplify the goal-oriented changes needed in your life so your vision of your future becomes a reality.

Goal pillars facilitate the creation of the best version of yourself and support the overall lifestyle you want.

Here is what this looks like:

Here are some pillars you can include in your framework with goals for each:

PHYSICAL

Maintaining soundness of the body, freedom from disease or abnormality and optimal well-being where the body functions as designed.

  • Run 15 miles weekly
  • Drink more water and fewer sugary drinks
  • Get a good night’s rest

MENTAL

Cultivating a healthy psychological, emotional and social well-being which affects how you think, feel and act as you cope with life.

  • Practice meditation to reduce stress
  • Develop a network of positive friends
  • Keep a daily journal to document your feelings

EMOTIONAL

Being happy, self-aware, self-confident and resilient to cope with life’s challenges and recover from setbacks.

  • Build more authentic relationships
  • Develop hobbies to reduce boredom and increase pride in your work product
  • Take a class to learn deep breathing techniques

SPIRITUAL

Religious faith, values, principles, beliefs, and morals.

  • Attend church regularly and pray daily
  • Practice forgiveness
  • Set aside quiet time each day with limited distractions

SOCIAL

How you get along with people, how people react to you and how you interact with society.

  • Visit friends and family more often
  • Talk to strangers and understand their story
  • Start a random act of kindness project

INTELLECTUAL

Ability to think critically, questions one’s surroundings, pay attention to current events, develop creative ways to adapt to unexpected challenges and grow from experiences.

  • Take a course on a new subject
  • Subscribe to a journal or magazine
  • Read at least 10 books

PROFESSIONAL

Improving a career or occupation in which you were trained by learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such a academic degrees, conferences and or other opportunities in order to advance.

  • Attend one industry conference
  • Enroll in training course
  • Secure speaking engagements at local organizations

FINANCIAL

How you manage your money and assets and plan for the future along with the related decisions and activities

  • Develop a personal budget
  • Build and maintain an emergency fund
  • Develop an investment strategy for retirement

PERSONAL

The sum of personal choices that contribute to one’s personal identity

  • Pursue interest in interior design by taking on projects to help friends and family
  • Deepen relationship with extended family members
  • Take more trips and create a travel blog to document the journey

FAMILY

Routine interactions and activities that a family have together including spending time and doing things together

  • Develop family traditions for key holidays
  • Set aside one night per week as family night with board games or movies
  • Create a stronger relationship with my partner

INTERESTS

Activities enjoyed outside of work that are an extension of one’s personality or desired lifestyle

  • Join a volleyball league
  • Buy and rent out an investment property
  • Take an online course on data and analytics

COMMUNITY

Provide resources such as time, items, skills, money, assistance etc. to those in need

  • Volunteer at a local senior home and do art projects with the elderly
  • Donate household items to Salvation Army or Goodwill
  • Tutor students in an after school program

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Identify a customer need and develop a solution that is profitable and scalable

  • Define, invest in, build and run a business
  • Build a team and create systems and processes to run the business remotely
  • Advise startups and mentor founders

The great thing about goal pillars it that the framework is flexible and fluid! As new pillars become a priority in your life, you can add them and remove those you’ve achieved or that are less important.  Instead of moving through life aimlessly, this gives you a tool to design and live a rich, intentional life with purpose!

Here is one more example before it is your turn!

Which pillars would you include in your goal pillars?  I’d love to hear how you use this approach in your own life. Feel free to share in the comments below!  And pass along to anyone who could benefit from this approach!

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Self-Awareness: How to Use Your Biggest Asset

Now that I’m older and (hopefully) wiser, I understand and appreciate the unsolicited advice my mom has been giving me over the years.  She thought it was her duty as a good parent to pass along the tidbits and lessons. No matter how repetitive it became, she never missed the opportunity to share guidance one more time to make it stick.

The tactic worked because I remember the lessons and “get it” now.  I internalized them.  One that is relevant and resonates to this day is the importance of being self-aware.

Self-awareness is having a clear view of who you are, your personality and character, including your strengths and weaknesses, beliefs, thoughts, motivation and emotions.  Self-awareness allows for introspection along with seeing yourself the way others do in order to understand their perspective.

Self-awareness is having a clear view of who you are, your personality and character, including your strengths and weaknesses, beliefs, thoughts, motivation and emotions.

Similar to my mom, I’m a big believer in self-awareness and the impact it has on one’s trajectory and success in life.

Know and own who you are. It isn’t enough to know who you are.  We live in a world with lots of flashy lights, distractions and social media craze. You don’t have to go out of your way these days to see what others are doing which increases the opportunities for comparison, self-doubt and the need to always be doing more.  But what others are doing may not be what you should be doing.  Your focus should be on what works for you and operating within your zone. It is important to not just know who you are but truly own it and be confident, despite the outside pressures to question it and conform.

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Identify your strengths.  Your strengths are a combination of your knowledge, skills and talents.  We all have innate strengths but we also develop some over the course of our lives through education and experience. Once you know your strengths, you can align them with roles that allow you to both enjoy what you’re doing and excel.  The key here is to develop strengths so you learn how to use them better than others and apply them to new situations. Further, knowing which scenarios and environments support your strengths can lead to higher performance.

Acknowledge your weaknesses.  We all have weaknesses. The idea is to focus on your strengths and manage your weaknesses. The amount of effort spent on developing weaknesses will probably not have the same impact as developing strengths.  Therefore, once weaknesses are acknowledged, it makes sense to have a plan for them which could include outsourcing tasks that requires these weaknesses.

Understand what value you bring to others.  What do others come to you for? What do people think you’re good at?  What do they say you’re good at? Listen closely and ask.  Self-awareness involves aligning your introspection and view of yourself with how others perceive you. If what you identify as your strengths is consistent with what others see you as a go-to-person for, then you’re on the right path.

“Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves – their strengths, their values, and how they best perform.” ― Peter F. Drucker

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