So, you were a high-flyer as an undergraduate, never settling for less, and eventually landed a great job after graduation. Promotion after promotion followed in quick succession and you find that you have peaked in your career.
You are now at a point in your career where you have ‘settled’. You are in your comfort zone. Now, some might say that that’s not exactly a bad thing. After all, when a person gets to a stage in their lives, they must take a breather, be content with their achievements and simply take life one step at a time. True as that may be, ‘settling’ does have negative implications.
You see, dear friend, there is so much that life still has to offer you as a professional and there’s no rule that states that you cannot keep gunning for more while still “taking life one step at a time.” It is all about finding the perfect balance.
If, however, you choose not to find that balance and only lean in the direction of settling in your career then you will have to deal with the following:
Resentment
Resentment always starts small. You may find yourself slightly discomfited by the side-appreciation you are getting at the company meeting in contrast to the major recognition your junior colleague is getting at the same function. Then, you will start to truly get bitter about it because, suddenly, everyone seems to only care about the things that the new guy is doing. Nobody remembers the six-figure sale you closed a couple of years ago. In fact, they hardly remember you anymore.
These thoughts and emotions will continue to pile up, making you a bitter and consistently angry person. What is worse is that these emotions will eventually prevent you from even being able to achieve anything. You become stuck in a vicious cycle of wanting more but not being able to get it.
Regret
It is hard to talk about everything wrong with settling in your career without talking about the big “R.”
Granted, you might not begin to resent other people who are constantly breaking new grounds in their career. Just maybe you will not care that they are getting more recognition than you.
However, even if you do not find yourself pained by the success of others, you may likely find yourself unsettled by your lack of success. Imagine going to work every single day, feeling down in the dumps because you know that you could be more, but you simply are not. Imagine knowing that that promotion could have been yours if only you had tried harder.
You see, regret is a horrible feeling that has the potential to cause significant damage to your mental health. Thankfully, it is avoidable. However, if you choose to settle in your current position, then it is something you will have to deal with sooner or later.
Untapped Potentials
Les Brown writes that the graveyard is probably the richest place on earth because it is filled with everything that humanity did not achieve. This is because people were afraid to go for their dreams or stick to what they had the potentials to excel at doing. Sad!
Thankfully, you still have an opportunity not to enrich the graveyard. But, if you decide to ‘settle’ you still stand the risk of not harnessing your untapped potentials.
You know as well as we do that there is much more to you than paying obeisance all day, every day until you retire. We both know that you have more to offer your company and the world at large if you could simply get up and try to do more.
Sadly, the instant you decide to simply settle, you are throwing away all that potential. It is tragic and heartbreaking in more ways than one.
Takeaway
The way out of all this is quite simple – get up! Get up and get right back to work. Refuse to be comfortable with the ordinary and boring. Instead, work towards being and becoming more. Even if you are a senior manager in your company, you could be more in different ways. Career Agility is not always vertical, it can be horizontal too.
Even if you do not know how to go about this, don’t fret! Every day, there are new resources organized for your benefit. They will groom you to take the professional bull by the horns and become all that you were made to be. An example is what we offer at Pervium Consulting.
So, ask yourself, “Why settle when there is so much more out there for me to conquer?”
