The JibberJobber blog is all about life and career thoughts. A few days ago I tweeted this:
I’m learning to respect life’s seasons. Some seasons are for hustle, others for learning or healing. Some for giving, others for receiving.
Your current season might be different than those of your friends, which can feel lonely.
Remember this, though: Seasons change!
— Jason Alba (@jasonalba) March 29, 2022
It’s hard to respect life and career seasons when you are in one and want to be in another. It’s hard to go through life and career transitions.
Respect Life and Career Seasons
Sometimes you think you are ready to hustle but you need time to heal. Sometimes that time is months or years. Or, you need to hustle but you also need to heal. Why are we not better at allowing ourselves to just be?
Sometimes we get to choose our seasons, or when we transition. Other times they are forced on us (for example, taking care of a loved one might be a season of patience for us). We might be able to change or adjust those seasons, but sometimes we just have to roll with them.
For job seekers, we want to get out of this seasons as soon as possible. But outside factors, like the economy, our skillset, etc. might force us to stay in this season longer than we want.
Respecting these seasons means we figure out how to live through them. Figure out how to survive, find peace or joy, and thrive. If you hate the season you are in now, what could you do to make a great transition, and enjoy the next season more?
Here’s an idea I’ve blogged a lot about: creating multiple streams of income.
Enjoying these seasons, and transitions, isn’t just about money (although no money can make them miserable). Learn how to enjoy the people around you. Learn how to enjoy yourself!
I’ve had to learn how to enjoy the path I’m on. It’s hard because I have taught myself to find joy in my accomplishments, but over the last few years I’ve gotten better at figuring out joy in my journey.
You might need to talk to a counselor, a therapist, a mentor, or friends who can help you. I needed some mental rewiring, or, as they say, I needed to change the tapes that were playing in my head. The further my life and career goals were, the easier it was for me to understand I couldn’t wait years or decades to be satisfied, happy, or joyful. I needed to work on this life skill right now, as I walked the journey.
One thing I came to realize was that if I couldn’t figure out how to have joy in the journey, I very likely wouldn’t have joy in the accomplishment. Having joy was a the life skill, not the reward at the end.
Isn’t that fascinating?
I invite you to work on finding whatever you are after in your life and career journey, instead of waiting for that fulfillment when you reach it. What if that is decades away? Or, what if you never reach the goals you think are so important?
Soon enough your seasons will change. You’ll go through transitions, which can be exceptionally hard (or, peacefully rejuvenating), but whatever season you are in now will likely not last forever. Learn what you can, nurture the relationships you have in front of you, prepare for the next seasons, and be intentional about how you walk through this season. And somehow, somehow figure out how to get that joy or fulfillment you need.