If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!- Kipling

“The unforgiving minute.” It is always sixty seconds and today we constantly aim to fill it with as much productivity and success as humanly possible. I have been a distance runner since I was 12 years old, so when I first read Kipling’s If, it resonated with me. In his poem, Kipling encourages us to learn to fill the “unforgiving minute” with the slow and often monotonous pace of a distance run because doing so will implicitly teach us to focus on the present moment- taking in all the beauty life has to offer. During a distance run, you cannot multi-task, make a to-do list, check your email, tweet, or update your planner. You can only do what you are presently doing…running because that is the only thing that will bring you closer to your goal…to stop running.

Focusing on the present is especially difficult when it comes to your career. From a young age, we are prematurely launched into the future as soon as someone asks us a simple question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a trick question because the answer evolves as we evolve. However, our 5-year-old self-assumes there is a right answer because most questions posed to a 5-year-old by an adult have a correct response. “Do you want to share your toy with your sister”- Yes. “Should you play in the middle of the street?”- No. Asking the “what do you want to be” question unintentionally limits our creativity and narrows our focus at an early age in order to provide the “correct” answer.

As a career coach, I have come to loathe this question because of it’s unfair and limiting in nature. When I hear someone ask it, I physically cringe. We may have many ideas about what we want to be when we grow up, but responses such as “I’m not sure” or “I want to be an astronaut, jockey, and a psychologist” are often judged as ambiguous, unfocused, not practical, or even worse illogical. The answer to this question, now guided by a bias opinion, catapults us so far into the future we often skip a very important part of career development, career exploration.

The correct question to ask a child (or a person at any age) should be, “what do you want to learn about?” The answers to this question will provide you with ideas and explorative professional and personal opportunities. As suggested by Kipling, focusing on present interests instead of making decision rooted in an unknown future can bring us closer to designing or redesigning a more desirable career. Making career decisions based on the opinions of others, the promise of prestige, and the lure of a potentially exceptional paycheck will not yield the same benefits as focusing on the present.

Brainstorming many different career paths, no matter how realistic, is EXACTLY what you need to do to create the best version of your reality and your career. WARNING: This version changes as we change, which is why there is no right answer to the “what do you want to be” question. That is also why it is very important to self-reflect and focus on your present interests and needs to stay in touch with these items as they change or remain consistent.

When I am mulling over a decision, no matter how big or small, my mother always tells me, “you can only make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time.” I have come to learn is fabulous career (and life) advice. Based on your current needs, values, skills, and interests, what type of work would you like to find? This is a very healthy way to being exploring opportunities.

When asked, it is easy to recount what you are doing and what you’ve done, but “what you want to be” will change as your life circumstances change…and that is ok! Viewing our careers as an evolving experience can allow us to feel less stressed when plans “don’t work out”. Instead of feeling like a failure, tough times in your career should be viewed as an indication that it is time for another change. You are evolving, and your circumstances need to catch up and that is perfectly and appropriately normal. Designing a meaningful career that allows you to fill the unforgiving minute with as many of your present interests and passions as possible will allow you to savor each second and be grateful to do the work you are doing. I started the blog by talking about an unfair and limiting question, so I would like to leave you with a more productive and positive question. What can you learn more about in the next 60 seconds to bring you closer to the career you want? 

Still trying to decide if a career or job change is right for you?  Check out my free Career Inventory Workbook!  This workbook will help you self-reflect and discover if your current job is making the best use of your skills, talents, values, interests, and personality.  Happy reflecting!!!