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Ready to sail your boat across an ocean?

I really like the Sailboat metaphor (Alberts, H.J.E.M., 2016. The Sailboat. Maastricht: Positive Psychology Program) so I will borrow it to offer a simple perspective on the career journey. It is helpful to increase understanding of different aspects of both ourselves and our surroundings in career decision making.

Imagine you are the captain of a sailboat, the one who controls the steering wheel. What would you most need to drive your boat forward and in the right direction?

 

 

What is within your control?

The compass is used for navigation and it will give you a sense of direction. It serves as a valuable guide on your journey. Whenever you have doubt, feel lost, go back to your compass/your purpose since it always provides feedback on the current direction in which you are heading and lets you know if you are on or off the right track.

Sails are wings. It captures the wind to generate the power to propel the boats forward. Your strengths, your potential, you own them. They are authentic and come naturally to you. Yet some of them are dormant.

We won’t be able to sail the boat anywhere far without identifying and fixing the leak. The same goes for you. To flourish, you need to be aware of what gets in the way.

A boat needs certain destinations to head to, you need certain goals to reach. What’s the point of learning who you truly are without translating those abstract values into your success? And remember, don’t sail in a direction that other sailors instead of yourself want you to sail.

“Vision without action is fantasy. Action without vision is chaos” (Michael Bernard Beckwith). If you just collect information without implementation, it’s useless. On your career journey, this is where you build up your personal brand and drive to be better every day.

What is out of your control?

We don’t fight reality. We develop coping skills to get prepared for what reality throws at us.

Our social network may offer support and positively influence our motivation. On the other hand, it may provoke fear, self-doubt, self-criticism and a lot of times throw you off the scent.

If it’s uncontrollable, unavoidable, the only thing we can do is accept that fact and build resilience.

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