In her 2018 TED Talk, designer Ingrid Fettell Lee stated: “Joy is different than happiness. Happiness is something that measures how good we feel over time. But joy is about feeling good right now, in the moment.” Her observation shares “happiness is complicated — we can’t predict or control it, and we don’t even always recognize it even when we have it.” Unfortunately social media promotes the fairy tale joyful surprise with a marriage proposal on bended knee or expensive car gifting with the gigantic red bow ribbon reveal for the holidays. Neither happened in my case, but something better occurred.
Balloon Fantasy
With a childlike fascination every time Pat and I live abroad for a month on sojourns between Seattle and Austin, I covet the balloon vendors on the promenade in France, Italy, and Spain. Not sure what started this desire, but for the past 2 years I have been on my husband’s case to surprise me with balloons. Not ordinary balloons, there was a specific request for a pink unicorn coupled with fuchsia and silver metallic designs. “Surprise me” on any ordinary day since my birthday is the first day of Winter overshadowed by Christmas and New Years. I even engaged 2 of my dear friends in Seattle to help him with this request 2 months ago. Nada. Have you experienced the same issue? To be clear, we are both past buying presents, but we love adventures and new experiences. Yes, I could have bought my own balloons but then I wouldn’t have that moment of surprise and wonder. Last week my unicorn balloon fantasy occurred and brought me incredible joy! In essence, my unicorn balloon was my planned joyful moment. Now some people might find this silly, but I would suggest you are missing out on the power of giving and receiving. I love a curated surprise that matches the desire of the participant. My husband and I have a joyful marriage with the characteristic ups and downs after 19 years. Typically I’m better at delivering the shock and awe, it’s my schtick as part of loving a big reveal in part due to romantic comedies and reality television. Anyone else?
Career Passion
It brings me to daily life. If you don’t enjoy — yes, “joy” is part of the word “enjoy” — your career, I suggest it’s time to change. Realizing you might be constrained by geography, education challenges, parental obligations, housing predicaments, money, litigation, and mental or physical health issues, I believe creating a plan to move along in your career adventure 1-12 months from now will help your psyche and life overall. My advice daily to clients who desire a better life-work balance is to find your joy and go for it! What’s the best way to do it? You have several options.
- Resources: Over breakfast, I was taken off guard by my husband’s response “No” to my question, “Have you had a career mentor?” Following up, I queried how he was able to retire at 55 as a tech sales executive? Networking and resources.
- Networking: For those of you who abhor joining associations, volunteering or reaching out to virtual acquaintances, get over it! Over 90% of the jobs I received in my career were due to personal relationships vs. sending a blind email to an online posting. The latter does work, but you increase your chances by reaching out to colleagues or new acquaintances at your target dream company. Offer to buy lunch or grab a coffee or tea to learn more about the corporate culture. Granted, it’s uncomfortable but what is a new career worth to you? Mentioned in previous blogs, I started my career consulting 3 years ago related to an early retirement and mid-life “unpaid” internship (tongue-in-cheek) at Dress for Success in Seattle and Austin. My new physical and virtual connections are new clients, volunteer associates or admirable coaches and mentors. Just last week I received a referral from Kathryn Morrison/Bohemian Boss Lady an inspirational career coach in Austin who quit her high tech career 1 year ago for a more fulfilling career helping others.
- Resources: My husband loves to listen to the “talking heads” discussing finances for their varied perspectives related to investing. Further, he’s an avid reader of blogs. Guess what? I do the same for career consulting, job search techniques, resumé research, and LinkedIn makeovers. LinkedIn has terrific groups along with Instagram and Twitter. My advice is to get involved by following a career related hashtag (e.g., #careeradvice #jobsearch #mentoring #techjobs) or CEO of your admirable companies. They are inspirational and may help you on your trajectory.
- Career Coach: One of the recent resources I have come across is www.linkedin.com/ProFinder. I have used this service to obtain quotes for my website development and they also offer career consulting. Per their website: “Review Trusted LinkedIn Experts & Choose The Skills You Need. Top Freelance Talent. Local Professionals.” Based upon your LinkedIn profile location for no initial charge you can submit a career coach request and receive 5 proposals to work with in person or virtually. Drop down options include the following:
- Create a 60-day plan or 360-view review
- Tactics on navigating an organization’s processes and politics
- Managing work and life priorities
- Developing a strategy to grow your leadership presence
Here’s to landing your next career adventure because you deserve it.
