I’ve been on a strong kick lately of trying to better myself professionally. I don’t think of myself as a slacker, but I tend to be lazy when it comes to putting myself out there. Maybe it’s not laziness – maybe it’s just the fear of failing. I know failure is important for development and growth, but it’s definitely not on my top list of comfortable feelings.
I also deal with a severe reluctance to grow up. I’ve gotten better with responsibility and money and all the things that come with adulthood, but to actually try to build myself as a career woman takes it to another level. I like being the person who works to support her yarn, gaming , and travel habits, the person who still doesn’t know who she wants to be when she grows up.
While I don’t think I’ll ever be a “career woman,” I am seeing the upside to improving myself and gaining experience. Résumé building and working on my Linked in profile have become current goals. I find myself saving and reading professional articles and stepping up to take training opportunities and classes through my job. I even signed up for some courses through Coursera to gain more insight into how to do my current job better and to be prepared for future positions.
I suppose there’s always a chance that all this effort won’t be worth anything and that I may end up overlooked for positions or even out of a job at some point, considering the unsure nature of the economy. Generally, though, I’m a person who takes pride in my accomplishments, even if they go unnoticed. Everything I do and achieve shapes a little more of who I am. This doesn’t mean I don’t get sad and jealous when I see other people getting praised for work I did (or work I could have done) while I sit silently in the background, but it does help that at the end of the day, I know I have the skills to do something awesome later.
I don’t know if I’ve found my ideal niche in the work world. While I want to be professional in the work I do, I’d still love to work in sweats all day from a coffee shop. Having said that, I’m not sure if I’d have the motivation to do that 40 hours a week. I’d like to think I would…but I’d have to do some serious self evaluation if that time came.
For now, the goal is to learn what I can, do what I can, and strive for the positives of being a worker bee.
The Romance Factor 