Stop and Taste the Fruit!

As a professional, sometimes it can be difficult to give yourself credit for the skills you have acquired. In a constant chase of new heights or one's goals, at times, it may feel like the only way to get there is to put your head down and grind until you hit your main objective. By doing this, it is easy to lose sight of what our true passions are and why we set these goals in the first place. A journey without meaning is just another errand to run.

 Just like fruit that isn’t picked, the skills and traits that ones develops over time start to rot on the vine and may feel useless. This can create a cycle of frustration and disappointment. If we wait for an external validation, we become helpless and are often at the mercy of others. Today is the day you taste the sweet fruit of determination and perseverance!

Take a moment to write down the work related tasks you perform on a regular basis. For each task, write down 3-5 skills that you have acquired from doing this task on a regular basis. Notice what you have grown stronger in and what you would like to continue to work on and develop over time. It may be difficult at first, but once you get past the inner critic, you will start to notice that you have been preparing yourself for the next phase of your career for a long time. By acknowledging the skills you have acquired, you are boosting your self-confidence. By writing down what you want to grow in, you will be more aware of opportunities that match your skills that you didn't even realize you had. Suddenly, the tasks and responsibilities that you shied away from become the new growth challenges that you will look forward to conquering. You may realize that public speaking was a nerve racking experience at one point, but after having to give a weekly staff reports for a few months, you have gotten past that public speaking fear that had followed you for years. Stop and taste the fruit you have cultivated, so you can continue to build the career you truly want and enjoy rather than the one you think you were stuck with.