Tell Giselle: Holding momentum

Our weekly advice column from Giselle Massi, a former journalist with The Denver Post.

“I have been working on building a career that I hope can go the distance, rather than what my peers seem to be choosing, which is moving through a string of jobs. Do you think that staying in one field is preferable and advisable or is the churn better for long term success?”

G: There are some people who grow up knowing from an early age what it is they would like to do. I have a granddaughter soon to turn six, who speaks repeatedly of wanting to be an astronaut. Who knows where that idea or interest got formed. Only time will tell if my granddaughter shoots for the stars – like her mother who wanted to become a doctor ever since she was young, and never deviated from that goal.

Rather than disparaging anyone who switches jobs with more frequency than the weather forecast, I have respect for people who are willing to have continuous employment of any kind. Holding a job, for however long or short, and doing it consistently well, is not easy to do. Even the best positions, meaning those slots with a deeply meaningful task, or that have a respectable salary and benefits, come with serious tradeoffs. Think the military, first responders, healthcare professionals.

Employment, in my opinion, has many more upsides than down. For starters, all work, whether paid or unpaid, will provide a level of independence and the opportunity for personal growth. With that will come dignity and self-respect.

You are a member of a club that seems to thrive on the track that you set for yourself. Others will be able to succeed with greater uncertainty and more upheaval, even taking on significant risks with the churn. There’s not a “one size fits all” when it comes to the ways to fulfill our destiny.

But I have noted a common trait with people that I have counseled who have been trying to find their purpose. Those who are unsettled with their career path, who switch jobs more frequently – sometimes even making what looks like sharp turns in the type of work they do – are not necessarily suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity. Nor are they always exhibiting entitlement behavior, as goes the criticism.

Ask anyone who has a history of multiple job assignments, and you’ll likely find a person who has a wide range of interests, rather than one driving passion that holds their attention. What I have found is they also have multiple talents. They are not just good at several things; they start out displaying a pretty high competency level. Having these many “gifts,” aka complex nature, can be both a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is that they can excel at a variety of interesting work, finding great enjoyment with multiple fascinations. Where the curse shows up is where the ability to not be distracted by the next shiny thing becomes a lifelong test of resolve, to stick with one thing at a time. That is where developing discipline and restraint will help to make or break a professional life.

Changing up the type of work one does is similar to how we will alter what we eat or drink throughout various stages of our lives. Sometimes we grow tired of the taste for certain foods and drink just because of monotony, while other times it is due to a change in our health status that could have been out of our control.

Employment can change because of boredom and burnout or because of circumstances that are above our paygrade. A new boss comes in and wants to bring in their own team, or the economics of the business tank and force layoffs or a merger. You get the idea. Each precipitating factor, however impersonal, will still require one to be resilient.

In order to hold steady with the momentum to remain in the employed club one must see that change does not have to be negative. In fact, all change holds wisdom if one is oriented toward seeing where the knowledge resides. In life, we will use everything we ever learn; somewhere it has applicability. If not for ourselves, it will be for the benefit of others. Having multiple positions, or just one over a lifetime, can be like planting seeds in a garden that will provide a harvest for all.

Giselle was a journalist with The Denver Post and is the author of “We are Here for a Purpose: HOW TO FIND YOURS” and the novel “Just Dance the Steps.” Her new romantacy “WYNTER’S DREAM” is now available.  Email Giselle with your question at [email protected]  To read more columns go to  www.gisellemassi.com