HOW DID I GET HERE?

Have you ever found yourself waking up and going to work and asking yourself the question of how you got to the job that you currently work?  This question is not typically asked when you are having a good day, this reflection comes when you question your purpose and future.  The question comes when you see conflict, or you get bored, or experience feelings of burnout.  Ironically enough, you could even have this reflection in any area of leading others, not just in a job.  

Whatever arena you can think of wherein you asked this question or even thought about it in your heart, you pondered it because you wanted an answer.  

Now, before you think that I’m going to provide the answer to your specific situation, let me clarify that I will not.  Instead, I want to let you know that you are not alone in this reflection and to tell you that asking this question can be a great opportunity to reset as a leader.   

Leadership has a way of causing us to move at high rates of speed, getting into ruts, and sometimes just doing what we did to get the role.  If you desire to lead others by any means necessary, you could miss some warning signs about this role before saying yes to the position.  This is true in whatever leadership role you may take, from parenting to the boardroom.  

One day, you are excited about starting a new job, starting a family, leading a group, or opening a business, and then the demands of each of those roles evolve and cause you to question your decision.  

So what do you do when you wake one morning, and all those feelings that are pushing forward try to force you to ask these questions?

First just breathe!  Calm down and don’t allow the feelings to overtake you.  Evaluate the area of leadership that you are questioning by evaluating your emotions and thoughts.  Let’s begin to reframe those thoughts.  This can only happen when you are willing to slow down and really evaluate what you are questioning.  It is going to cause you to do a self-check.  I’m telling you to look inside yourself.  We tend to look on the outside first when things are not going the way we desire, but not this time.  

So let’s have a transparent moment: what are you questioning?  Is it your workplace, the position, or the group that you are leading?  Have you stopped growing where you are?  Consider this: what is in your control?  What changes do you believe you need?  What would those changes look like?  Are you willing to adjust your routine?  I say this because a bad moment can cause you to do a broad brush of everything in your personal and professional life, and even the good things will start to look bad. 

I think the best wisdom I could share with someone who finds themselves asking these questions is to look within and ask yourself is the position that you are questioning one that you have outgrown or be honest and see if you needed to be in the position to begin with.  Don’t look at the people, the commute convenience, or even the pay.  Here is a very important nugget: don’t look at the title!  You are more than the title and the position.

The benefit of asking the question of how you got where you are today can change your tomorrow.  Your answer to this question can cause you to get unstuck and evaluate where you are.  This question may allow you to pursue help to achieve the dream hidden in your heart.  It can cause you to recognize that change is necessary to allow you to feel better about your current role.

Don’t ever be afraid of self-evaluations in your life, as this will enable you to be aware of your current status or cause you to make the necessary changes to get the results you desire.  

The next time you start your day asking this question, before you take a sip of coffee, don’t be afraid to sit in the moment, in silence, with your pen and journal, to begin evaluating your life.  It might just cause you to start on a new journey and be the best version of you in this world.