Back in the mists of time, I read that, “In order to find the life that is waiting for you, you have to leave the life that you have.”
In the domain of strategic planning, the concept of the “S Curve” may be found. This paradigm discusses the notion that as the upward sweep of business growth slows, the risk of decline emerges. The planning process seeks a new and invigorated growth curve. This is the “S Curve.” This often requires a radical shift in business focus.
The same challenge may hold for us as individuals. Indeed, I would offer that, as each decade in our careers draws to a close, it is time for a deeply reflective assessment of our experiences, successes, failures, foundational knowledge and skills, and our social and emotional IQ. I will be sixty-eight when I finally complete my doctoral studies, and I sincerely wish that I could carry back to my fifties what I have learned in the last few years.
Related: Are Futures in Your Future?
Here’s my sincere admonishment. If you’re closing in on forty, or fifty or, more challenging, your career just got changed for you, it is time for a deep inventory of what you bring to the world. One way to get this going is to answer the following question in the most complete way possible: What do I view as the real purpose of my endeavours? You can then assess any gaps in your tools or approaches that you need to fill in order to actualize this aspiration.
You can create your personal “S Curve” and move to a level that you never imagined possible.