Leaving Space For the Potential You Marla Gottschalk

Leaving Space For the Potential You Marla Gottschalk Photo by Fab Lentz on Unsplash Life isnt about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. George Bernard Shaw Career exploration really begins within our own imaginations â€" well before we utter a single word or visit a job board. We consider where we currently find ourselves and where wed like to go, trying on jobs and titles and experiences in the process. Its a very quick exercise within our minds eye. However, it is a vital step in the career growth dynamic. How we visualize ourselves in the future matters. I happened to be reading about mindfulness yesterday, particularly discussions about carving out space between a stimulus that we encounter and our reaction to it. (See a discussion of the one-second rule here.) Research has revealed that taking a moment to suspend making a decision, forming an opinion or choosing a behavior, can have a significant impact upon our work lives. That has me thinking about our initial responses as we consider our own abilities or potential. Conventional thinking tells us that all human beings seek pleasure and avoid pain. Yet research has shown that our own regulatory focus â€" or the way we typically approach risk plays a role. (Some of us are more naturally promotion focused and embrace more risk; others choose a safer path and are more naturally prevention focused). So, do you dismiss yourself too quickly? Pass over a path that may be fruitful long-term because of the risk or disruption involved? Do you have moments where you consider ourselves in a non-reactive way? Does a prevention focus hold you back? (Read more about that here.) We cant build careers if we dont fully consider all of the possibilities. Yes, there are risks. But, we can be aware of our reactions to those risks and manage the associated fear. If you respond with an immediate nay when contemplating a pivot or challenge, be mindful of your own natural tendency in that regard. When you pause at that window of possibility â€" envision yourself succeeding, not drowning â€" and see what that brings. Keep your desire to prevent failure in check. I challenge you to hold on to the possibilities just a bit longer. See what you do next. Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist.   She is the Director of Organizational Development at Allied Talent. A charter member of the LinkedIn Influencer Program, her posts on workplace topics have appeared in Forbes, The Huffington Post, US News World Report and The World Economic Forum.