Writer Annie Dillard says “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives”. If we spend a third of our weekdays at work, that means being mindful of how we run our careers affects a big portion of our entire life. What are your values? How does your job align with them? What do you hope to leave behind when you are gone? Those are all very important questions we should ask ourselves when planning our next career move. Let’s talk about legacy.
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What do you want to be known for?
Thinking about legacy helps us pay attention to what holds a big place in our hearts. If someone asked you “what do you want to be known for”, what would you say? At the core of the answer, are your values. Having a clear understanding of what is truly important to you empowers you to find and take the best fitting job, decide on a course of study, or relocate abroad to build a whole new life and career.
Focus on building your legacy, not on proving yourself
“I feel like my 20s were spent just trying to get someone to listen to me, and then my mid-career was talking as fast as possible so I could just get more done”, says writer Lauren Bailey. How many of us have fallen prey to similar traps? Of course, there is nothing wrong with working hard and trying to make a name for yourself, but what is the ultimate goal? If your career moves are oriented toward pleasing others or proving your worth “to the world”, your work life is not going to be a pleasant one. On the other hand, if what you do is anchored by your sense of legacy, you will feel free and powerful enough to pursue your dreams.
The grounds for your legacy
Australian philosopher Roman Krznaric wrote a helpful little book called “How To Find Fulfilling Work”. He says most of us are motivated by five main forces when it comes to working: making money, reaching a higher status in society, following our passions, using our talents, and making a difference in the world. In order to find out what matters to you, you have to think about these five items and pick your priorities. Would you quit a high-paying job to work on your passion project? Would you take a position where you don’t use your talents but can help more people? No wrong answer here, but two disclaimers. Krznaric tells us to keep in mind that while you can focus on any combination of two or three items, no career will offer us all five possibilities at once. Also, there is nothing wrong with wanting to live a more comfortable life, but a career built solely on money and status is not the best option.
Fear not. Try!
Are you ready to live out your values at work? Here is where so many of us fail. Maybe you just need a job and want to take whatever life throws at you. Or maybe you feel insecure about making life-altering decisions based on your dreams. Yes, being purposeful in building your legacy can feel scary sometimes.
The best way to conquer fear is by taking action, says Krznaric. He advocates for more experimenting and trying in our careers. So in order to build your legacy, how about “playing” around a bit? Apply for that job you think may be too difficult to get, go to that conference that may open some doors, introduce yourself to that person whose work you admire.
“What usually happens is we end up in jobs that don’t fit us because we don’t have any experience of what they are going to be in real life. We spend so much time trying to conceive what the perfect career would look like that we end up paralyzed, supplanted by rear and procrastination”, Krznaric writes.
What are the steps (big or small) you can take today to connect your career to your value?
https://blog.vanhack.com/blog/recognizing-and-taming-fear-when-you-are-a-woman-in-tech/
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