Are You Thriving … Or Just Surviving?

Let me ask you a question, are you sailing along in your career? Or does it feel like your sail is only half way up the mast and you’re struggle to get anywhere? Do you feel you are performing at less than your maximum potential? A recent Gallup Poll said that 74% of Americans are disengaged with what they are doing for a living. The sad reality is, when it comes to their careers, the majority of U.S. workers are not going after what is meaningful to them at all. Rather, they are jumping through hoops, doing what somebody else wants of them. These unfulfilled souls function like organizational robots. They go through the motions of their day unchallenged and unfocused. As a consequence, they merely perform whatever it is they are supposed to be doing, putting in no more effort than what is required of them. Hummm … sound familiar?

In their heart they can feel the desire for something more. This purposelessness begins to eat away at their spirit like a cancer. They crave an opportunity to make their mark on the world, to make a difference in life. They hunger to be energized by doing work they believe in, something that has personal meaning and purpose to them.

Make no mistake, this kind of lack in fulfillment and personal driving force is dangerous. Not only for the individual but for the company who employs such people. Without a sense of purpose, one will march along on a programmed treadmill that results in a less then peak performance. The question remains then, how do you discover that environment in which to thrive? How do you uncover your greatest potential and create a clear vision for your individual strengths?

But here lies the challenge. It’s been my experience that when I ask my clients to tell me how they have made a difference, I typically get a black stare. Most – as high as 90% can’t tell me. In my opinion, that’s the starting block. Sadly, they really do know, but they simply haven’t taken the time to discover it, take ownership of it, then put it into a game plane for their career path. Without doing this, there is limited success in leveraging one’s personal potential.

Understanding one’s personal history of contribution, how one has made a difference is the key. I have an exciting and easy way to implement a solution

You have to DIG!

Discover Your Gifts

Inventory Your Successes and Accomplishments

Give Your Gifts

Discover Your Gifts

First, I suggest you go back through your history and write down a list of things in your work history that have brought great satisfaction. I call these your Love Tos vs Your Have Tos. What are your favorite and most meaningful activities? Think about situations you felt you “hit it out of the park”; you were “hittin’ on all cylinders”. What are some events that have given you a true sense of fulfillment? The answers to these questions are the clues to your gifts. Once you bring these gifts into focus, you will begin to see a pattern where you are thriving.

Inventory your Successes and Achievements

From this list identify your top five situations, ones in which they felt you’ve made a difference. Each achievement needs to possess the following qualities:

1. It needed to be one of your favorite experiences, one which you thoroughly enjoyed doing.
2. You met and overcome a challenge in the process.
3. You felt proud of the outcome.

Next, take each of these top five experiences and create what’s commonly known as a C.A.R. mini story. These stories should be based on three criteria:

What was the Challenge?

What kind of Action did I take?

What were the Results?

Once completing these initial exercises it’s not uncommon for someone to feel a sense of real accomplishment and genuine pride. You should be able to begin to describe, qualify and quantify your self-worth … how you make a difference.

Give Your Gift

Put these newly recognized gifts into action. A gift is not a gift if it is not given. Once an individual understands how they have made a positive impact they have a stronger sense of purpose. They take more ownership of their contribution to the overall success of your company. Yes, they become more engaged.

Now, let me pose a few questions. First, do you think if given the chance to discover your unique strengths, and know them inside out, upside down – backwards and forwards you know you have a track record of making a difference - would you feel better about where you are going with your career? Second, do you think your company might be the direct benefactor of your newfound fervor? Now if you learn to leverage these assets, you are on the path of creating an environment where you can thrive … not just survive. I will talk more about how you can do this with 30, 60, 90 Day Vision and Strategy

© Susie Mathews 2006 All rights reserved