You’ve stalled in your career and you wonder if it is you, or just the way it is. We’ve all been there, where we accept a drift away from rewarding work. Maybe you notice this… your mind lingers on daydreams longer than it should; or, you notice you’re getting more cynical and negative.

Just like you can’t rely on past successes for future rewards, you can’t continue to rely on past methods to create the career you want. You must continue to learn and create new frameworks for discovering your passions, talents, and ways to experience success as you transition into the next phase of your career. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Own It! Commit to Developing Yourself

Without noticing it, we can let others define our goals and objectives. Outside perspective and influence are good, but the annual performance review isn’t going to sustain you in the long term. Take ownership of your desires and interests and how you will fulfill those at work. You’ll feel empowered and will increase your self-confidence.

Borrowing from the concepts in the book The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, I recommend making a contract with yourself. You don’t have to wait for your company to implement these practices, you can do it yourself.

What are some areas you want to develop in yourself? There are traditional work-related areas – technical skills, leadership, communication, etc. But, think of some of the personal areas you might want to grow in, too… compassion, patience, understanding. Those will likely never show up in any performance review, but you can still develop them in the workplace. Then, set a timeline for when you’ll reevaluate your progress. I believe this is the most important thing you can do to develop a rewarding career in the long term.

Be a Part of the Team

Just because you don’t have a team at work defined for you doesn’t mean you’re not part of a team. Take a few moments to distinctly define your team… who relies on you? Who do you rely on? What are the shared goals and objectives? Now, spend some time reflecting on your role within the team.

• What are the talents and skills you typically contribute? Are those areas of strength for you? Be honest in your assessment of yourself and your contributions. If you can line up your areas of strength with areas of contribution, you will experience greater success.
• What talents and skills do you want to contribute? Don’t deceive yourself about your strengths, but don’t diminish them, either. Are there contributions you could be making, that you aren’t? What are they?
• Who compliments you? You’ve likely worked with people that perfectly compliment you and your talents. What strengths did they have and why were you effective with them? If you can identify traits, you can seek them out in others and develop synergy.

Start Returning Now

You know the phases of a career… learning, earning, returning. You might think you’re still in the earning phase, but now is the time to think about how you can give back. Start preparing now.

Maybe you work for a non-profit and contributing to society is baked into your job. Or, your company has an incredible social mission that you identify with on a regular basis. Chances are, this is not the case, and so it is harder to regularly recognize your contributions to society through the work you do.

Spend some time considering your role, your employer, and how it contributes to a better society. If we can focus on some small, and positive, aspects, there is a greater likelihood you’ll start seeing bigger, positive things around you, too. On a regular basis, reflect on how your skills and talents contribute and ways you could do more.

Don’t trivialize your thoughts here… you may consider your contributions small, but small things matter!

Integrated Life Leads to Inspired Life

Mid-career can be a time where we feel stagnant or a time of personal growth and preparation for the next phase of our career. If you haven’t been feeling it lately, take some time to rediscover your personal aspirations and integrate them into your professional life. Doing so can lead to greater contributions to your work and with your team. Knowing yourself and seeing your role in a small team can lead to inspiration for greater contributions to the world, which will inspire yourself and others. 

*Originally published on LinkedIn October 2, 2018