How to avoid professional déjà vu
Are you doing the same thing over and over again in your career, expecting a different result?
Welcome to Illuminate Me. Each week, I share an illuminating insight to help you communicate and connect better, growing your reach, impact, and career.
This week’s insight: Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Have you ever been in a career slump?
Determined to break free of that feeling, you go back to what you always did, only wonder why you’re experiencing what famed baseball player Yogi Berra aptly described as “déjà vu all over again.”
In French, déjà vu means literally “already seen” and usually refers to something excessively familiar.
The problem in treating a current career challenge like an earlier one is that you’re destined to repeat the same mistakes because you’re unconsciously working from the same playbook.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result, it makes sense to avoid professional déjà vu; here’s how:
Audit your time
So many of us mindlessly move through our careers, unaware of how we spend our days. We get caught up in being busy but not productive, always wishing we had more time when what we need to do is be more intentional with the time we have.
Start by auditing your time—how many hours do you scroll social media versus working on your goals? Are you losing yourself on Netflix when you could be reading or listening to an educational podcast? So often, these time-sucking activities are simply enabling fear-fueled procrastination and indecisiveness.
Hold yourself accountable by logging all your activities for a week to get a complete picture of where you shine and your blind spots. And be brutally honest in your assessment; you can’t begin to make positive changes until you have an accurate baseline. As cringe-worthy as your current reality may be, gaining greater self-awareness helps you become more mindful and structure your time to achieve what you want.
Seek clarity
If you consider yourself ambitious yet seem to be spinning your wheels professionally, you probably lack clarity.
Clarity is all about focus and is obtained by answering a simple question: What do you want? Though this may seem like an easy exercise, it can be surprisingly difficult for some because they’ve never taken the time to consider it.
Also, realize that you’re allowed to change your answer over time; what you wanted when you began your career (or even last year) may no longer apply. Challenge yourself to be open enough to allow new, alternative, and sometimes even better possibilities to emerge.
But here’s the thing about clarity: it demands specificity, and there is no room for a wishy-washy answer. You can’t make progress if you “kind of” want something. The more focused you can be about what matters most, the better.
Get alignment
The magic starts when you identify what you want and then marry your attention with your intention.
Having clarity enables you to align your goals with a plan to achieve them and avoid the things that can derail you. Your environment always wins, so make sure you surround yourself with people who support and encourage your professional growth and limit your interaction with those who don’t.
Equally important is proactively spending your time on activities and projects that support your goals. Ask yourself if what you’re doing (or about to do) moves you closer to—or farther from) your goals, and then adjust accordingly.
Protect your time and learn to say no to those people and things that no longer serve you so you can say yes to those that do.
Repeat as needed
Remember to periodically check in with yourself to avoid getting caught in the comfort zone of career coasting.
Reassess how and with whom you’re spending your time, whether your goals have shifted, and what’s helping you move closer to them or preventing your progress.
Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes.
Clarity is the quality of being coherent, intelligible, and free from ambiguity.
And in the context of your professional world, it’s essential.
In my latest Forbes article, I share the four types of clarity you need to excel in your career.
More illumination:
Miss last week’s newsletter? I shared 4 sneaky ways frustration can help you make career progress.
And one from the archives: Here’s how to be memorable for all the right reasons.
P.S.
What I do:
When I’m not writing this newsletter or avoiding professional déjà vu, I’m a social media ghostwriter. (Yep, that’s a thing). I help founders craft their stories to communicate and connect better, magnifying their reach and impact. (Think personal branding and thought leadership.)
I can also weave together your personal and professional experience to write an engaging, original, and authentic career story that aligns with and supports your personal brand and thought leadership, positioning you for success.
Learn more by visiting my website.
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