The one word that got me through this year.
At the beginning of each year, I create a vision board for what I want to manifest in the year to come. Hold on— I know I’m sounding a bit woo woo right now, but keep reading! I promise you can relate to what I’m about to share.
Anyway, as I was saying, each year I create a vision board and this year, the center message I placed was: EXPAND.
When I placed this on my board, I was thinking of the enjoyable type of expansion, like growing through professional development opportunities, expanding my circle of friends, growing my business. And while I was right in thinking that this word will be the theme in almost every area of my life including my career, relationships, and wellness, it wasn’t in the way I anticipated…
Now, you don't have to be a business owner to relate to this— putting yourself in a new role or environment in your career will push you in ways you never imagined. I started this new venture of launching Equal People HR because I felt:
knowledgeable (I have over a decade of experience working at a senior level!),
passionate (I've been dreaming of doing this for years), and
prepared (I know it would take lots of time and hard work, but I was ready for it!).
Little did I know that this was only the beginning steps of what I needed!
In order to really move forward and become successful at what I was doing, I had to try things that weren’t areas I necessarily felt comfortable with or areas that weren’t the “fun” part of the career I was creating. I had no choice though, as much as I avoided some of these uncomfortable areas, I needed to do them in order to move my business forward and reach my career goals.
Maybe you’re feeling this right now or have just gone through this, too? Here is an exact scenario I had to work through this past year that I really didn’t want to:
Let me give some context: I have never liked the idea of business networking. In fact, I dreaded it. In my mind, I’m picturing myself back at University business networking events with a bunch of people in suits, shaking hands, and making awkward small talk. It feels stuffy and formal and superficial to me.
As part of my business, I need to connect with businesses and leaders and… well… network! So I took a deep breath and started to think of ways to network in my area. I started with small things, like signing up for a community business association. I didn’t have to engage in anything if I didn’t want to, but my name was out there and I got information on what was happening in the business community. This small action led me to see an event that I WAS interested in being a part of! Buuuuut I didn’t sign up because it was a golfing event and I had never golfed a day in my life. So what did I do? I signed up for golf lessons! That would allow me to be ready for the next similar event when it comes up AND this allowed me to meet a whole new group of people in my community. What else happened?… you guessed it: networking!
So instead of going to a classic business networking event, I decided to sign up for hobbies and events that I am passionate about and enjoy and use those to connect with others in my community. I focused on being authentic to myself and approaching networking through building deep relationships, keeping it casual, and meeting in environments that are comfortable. This has formed some client relationships, good friendships and gave me the opportunity to talk about my business in a way that was casual and authentic to me. Networking redefined and more aligned with me!
So my advice to you is this: even if you are feeling uncomfortable or unsure, trust that you are in the process of preparing yourself for something bigger. In the meantime, the micro actions matter. It's not a cop out, it's all part of the process -- your career and your life isn't a series of major milestones, it's the accumulation of small actions and moments that lead you to the end result. I encourage you to do one action that feels safe to you today-- whether that be reaching out to a friend or colleague for coffee or jotting down reasons why you want a promotion. These actions help you expand. And expansion will lead you to where you are meant to be.
Your friend,
Lindsay