I absolutely love working with young professionals and often get asked the question around career when it comes to professional growth. My feelings around this are that your early 20’s are an amazing time to explore, get your hands dirty, learn from those around you and be a complete sponge in order to soak up all that the working world has to offer – whether you choose a smaller business, a corporate or you decide to go the entrepreneurial route.
This month’s content was born out of a wish to go back to my 18-year old self and tell her that everything will be okay and that the journey of my career and love for learning will unfold just as it’s meant to be. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing!
After completing my degree, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do – queue panic and round two of what I’d experienced in matric. I took the opportunity to assist at a small event management company towards the end 2006 and was offered a job post completing my three-month probation period.
From 2006 through to 2016 I worked in the event management space moving from the SMME world and into Corporate which taught me so much and allowed me to grow in many areas. I felt that after a decade in events my skill set was a bit limited and so I took the opportunity to move into sales and used the commission I earned to pay for my studies. At the age of 33 in 2017 I embarked on my coaching journey and have not looked back.
I worked and studied in 2017 and 2018 and took up the opportunity to move into the HR Team at Dimension Data as a Talent Manager. My desire to coach full time and have more flexibility with my son lead to me start my own practice in March 2020. The two most important lessons I’ve learnt along the way include the fact that learning is continuous, and it enriches your life, and failure is part of the learning process. The important thing when it comes to failure is to be able to ask yourself what you’ve learnt from the process in order to pick yourself up and try again. I have shed many tears along the way where my inner critic has told me I can’t do it and my fear of failure and the unknown has caused anxiety. At the same time, it has been those teary moments that have pushed me to move forward when I’ve wanted to run back.
The seven lessons I’ve learnt along the way,
Which I’ve included in my July posts, have helped me continue when the days have been dark and giving up looked like the only option. The value of BALANCE and what it represents are close to my heart and what I’ve built my practice on:
- The BREATH is key and helps me live in the present moment instead of continually worrying about the future.
- Being more AUTHENTIC and honest with myself and others has allowed me to connect and grow because I don’t have to waste time or energy on being someone who I think others will find acceptable.
- Being able to LEAD from a place of vulnerability where I’m more open to uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure is so hard but it has been necessary in order for me to take a leap of faith and venture down the path of more resistance. At the same time, my love for LEARNING has evolved.
- Change is hard for anyone, but I had to ADAPT in order to develop new skills and move into new parts of the business.
- NON-JUDGEMENT and kindness towards myself have been a BIG part of my journey and were key areas of work for me during my coaching studies.
- CREATIVITY is good for the soul and has given me an outlet for when I’m feeling emotional or running on empty. It’s about finding something big or small that brings you joy.
- As I’ve gotten older, I’ve finally reached a place of acceptance with my body where EXERCISE and EATING are about nourishment and enjoyment, rather than about punishment and reward.
To anyone out there wanting to make a big career choice, remember that every small step and decision will ultimately contribute to the bigger picture. Learn to trust your gut and celebrate the small wins along the way.