An inflection point is a time to take a new hard look at goals to see if a new strategy is warranted.
So for example, if for people in career transition the most usual option is to simply find another job that replaces the one that was lost.
But taking a new look at goals can produces some new desirable differences and then more of the same old same old won’t be good enough.
I’ve been meeting recently with some people in career transition. Our look at their three year goals produced a wide variety of strategic changes; a] those who will gear down to part time work and invest the extra time in family or a new skill building, b] those who will go back to school full time to help them qualify for a different kind of work, c] those who saw a totally new future, three years out, and could strategize to evolve into it by using their work and learning time differently, d] those who saw new goals for themselves but were unsure how to proceed to reach them, so far and e] those who need to and want to replace the full time job that’s ending, I was surprised there were so many differences among a small number of people.
So what about you. Have you had any inflection points recently that should be seen as a time to review your goals and life strategies? Here are some possibilities other than career transition that might stimulate a new look: an inheritance, a change in your work situation [e.g. new boss], a change in your partner’s career situation, a long illness, the kids go off the payroll [even if only temporarily], a new kid joins the payroll, you get married, you separate, you decide that you’re in a rut.
The one inflection point that I’ve written about previously is when someone identifies some ill use of their time that can be applied elsewhere; for example, deciding to quit an unproductive networking group. This is actually something that applies to almost everyone I coach. There’s always something that can be eliminated in favour of a better option.
So I suggest that you take a few minutes to look for an inflection point in your life or maybe invent one. And then a whole new strategy can be invented. Take a chance.
