DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A MIDCOURSE CORRECTION?

Have You Been Feeling Stuck?

You can’t steer a parked car.

I have this thought on a post-it note above my desk. What does it mean exactly? Have you ever been sitting in your parked car waiting for someone, and while you were waiting, have you ever tried to turn the wheel?  

I have and it’s really hard to do.  

Without the ignition on you get no power steering assistance, and without any forward movement, you're fighting all the resistance the tires can offer. 

But when you start the car and take your foot off the brake so that you’re moving forward even slightly, things change significantly.  

So why am I talking about driving?  

Well, it’s the same with your career. If you’re stuck in place, you can’t steer.

You have to be moving to make course corrections. If you’re feeling stuck or stalled, it’s good to take stock of the areas where you can get in motion.  

Professionally you can think about skill areas that you could develop that can help you now and in the future and ways that you can network or make connections to stimulate new ideas. 

Even if you can’t identify any professional areas to get in motion, creating forward momentum in other areas of your life gets the car moving.  Is there a hobby you’ve been wanting to try or maybe it’s some way to contribute to a charity or your community?

But maybe the best question is - do you even know why you’re stuck in place?  

Take a look at my Career Satisfaction Assessment to help you see where you might be stalling out. 

Making Mid-Course Corrections

You or the company you work for most likely set your plans at the beginning of the year and then break them down into quarterly and monthly goals with regular check-ins. I believe that there is a fine line between visiting your goal often enough to be dynamic and adaptable and checking in so frequently that the goal develops its own gravity and it becomes too big. 

Your goal could be a chosen career path, numbers you’d like to hit within your business, or certain accomplishments for the company you work for. 

Don’t wait until you think you should be finished to revisit your goal. To continue with the car metaphor, if you have chosen your lane, don’t wait until you're over the bumps and on the shoulder. Catch it when you start to veer a bit. 

Sometimes the veer is taking you somewhere more valuable than the actual plan. Checking in with this allows you to make this change on purpose and with intention rather than just riding it out. 

When you notice your goal veering you can either go with it or correct it. 

What does checking in on your goal look like?

Pause for a moment. What's your desired outcome? Get really clear on that. What do you need to be doing to accomplish that goal? 

It’s time for a gut check on whether the steps are still taking you in the right direction? 

If your answer is yes, you are still on course and still excited about the outcome of your goals thinking about what you are doing that is allowing you to be where you’re supposed to be. 

If your answer is no, you are not still on the best course for you then it’s time to take a look at what steps are causing you to veer from the course and make a midcourse correction. 

There is another option as well. One that Bob Ross would call a happy accident. You may notice you have veered from the course but you like this new path and outcome more than the original path. It might be time to change your goal. 

Taking the Career Satisfaction Assessment is only one step towards creating a more fulfilling career and therefore, happy life for yourself. If you feel that a career coach is part of this journey for you, for guidance, to help you navigate mid-course corrections, and hold you accountable to do the work, I’d love to talk. 

I offer a complimentary session where we discuss coaching, and your goals, and see if we're a good fit to work together. There’s no obligation beyond 30-45 minutes of our time.