Looking Through Your Lens

Each of us has a lens that we look at the world through. Usually we have several lenses – what do you think about your family? About working? About children, pets, trees? About God? Your view is shaped by a whole bunch of different experiences. Some of our views we consciously choose; others we just accept because that’s the way it always been; therefore, it’s fact.
I saw a movie last night, MINE, that caused me to think about how our point of view can be shifted. MINE is an independent film about pet rescue immediately after Katrina (www.minethemovie.com), and my sister is a hero in it. She is a passionate animal advocate, and that’s not something I’ve ever had any energy around. My point of view has been that animals are animals, and people are what are important. What I saw in this movie opened my eyes to the role pets can play in our lives – by caring for a creature that cannot speak in words, we learn about love and have potential to become better and more caring people. What shifted was not my world view, but rather I was able to add to that view. I have added dimension and depth.
My view of the working world has moved in the past few months. In my father’s time, men (and women) went to work, and they were judged by their stability – length of time in a position. Companies had pension plans, and it was common to retire from a company after 40 years. Roll that forward a few years, and having multiple positions became acceptable, and we moved to 401(k) plans, and 3-5 years in a job was a good tenure. Today, the work world has shifted once again, and we need to continue to adapt. Having a portfolio of jobs and being able to dial up and dial down may be the next generation of work. So, when your corporate job is demanding all of you, your Internet widget business slows down. When you are impacted by the next economic shift, you dial up your efforts in the widget business.
We have choices in the new situation. And, while one of the choices is denying things have changed, it’s been my experience that position slows down our personal progress. I have been helped by evaluating my skills rather than my jobs. What do I mean by that? My experience for the past several years has been as a program manager in financial services. The skills I have developed: managing people, analyzing needs, developing solutions, herding cats, tell me a lot about what I am passionate about and what I need to make sure I continue to develop. The exercise has also helped me realize that I am not my job, but rather a unique and valuable individual who contributes.
I am stronger as I interview. I am also continuing to look at other options – building our business (and that is also changing), developing my web skills (boy do I have a long way to go), and developing friendships and relationships that will continue into my next position. Which will happen – so will yours!
Join us on Saturdays at Job InterConnect to continue to share how we can adapt to this changing work world!