Converting yourself into your main asset
Unceasing evolution is part of human nature, as we live in an environment that is continuously changing and we need to adapt to it, at all levels.
Only a few decades ago, a person used to work for one or two companies all along his/her life. Nowadays situations change fast: companies’ downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, automation, restructurings or strategy redefinitions, are just a few of the reasons that cause professionals to face a career shift, in a shorter time than they were used to.
Since our job is an important part of our life in all aspects, we have nearly forgotten how to define ourselves as a person.
We begin our life being the son/daughter to someone, then we start higher education, and suddenly we start identifying with our studies, introducing ourselves like: “I am a student in economics… I am in a PhD program… I have a degree in Engineering…”
We enter the professional world and rapidly we start identifying ourselves with our position “I am a web designer….I am a marketing manager ….”
We seem to have lost the habit to define ourselves as unique individuals, without mentioning a standard title.
Unpredictable circumstances frequently affect the psychological condition of individuals. Sometimes challenging situations force us to improve ourselves and grow in a new direction.
If we are planning to redefine our career path, we will need to redefine our competences and our goals, with a new and fresh perspective.
Whenever defining a new path, it is key to set up our personal GPS with a starting point and a target point. What is the hardest part in this process? Identifying where we, as a person, stand; spot our main ambitions; recognize our talents in order to boost them. We should shift our focus from an identity-less approach (“I work for a company, I am part of an organization, etc.”) to a proactive, action oriented and more human-centered one (“I am talented in…”, “I must learn how to….”, “I must improve in…”).
