My Career? Gone Awry? – By Arnie Wohlgemut
I had lunch with a former supervisor recently and he asked me a great question. “Has your career gone the way you expected it to?”
A little stunned, I wasn’t sure how to answer the question at first. I was a young man when I started working for him and I’ve experienced a lot since then.
We all have ups and downs in our lives. It can be hard to get tangled in the disappointments or detours. I admit, at times, I’ve wanted to say “take this job and shove-it”. Sometimes curling up on the couch and watching movies seems like the ideal response.
The words of Larry Winget haunt me at those times. His book is called: It’s Called Work For A Reason, your success is your own damn fault. (Yes there is a book like that!) In the book Larry writes about taking responsibility for your success or and the lack of success. He explains that whining and self-pity is not helpful and will never change the outcome. When things are tough we need to get excited about possibilities and press forward.
Yes, I have had disappointments, but I have also had great opportunities.
I could have never imagined that I, after many years of designing, building and maintaining schools, that I would be involved in the design of a police station (photo above) or an EMS ambulance post! Who would have imagined that I would have a part to play in promoting energy conservation of these and other municipal buildings and a complex system of water and waste water treatment plants?
I’m excited about the paths my career has taken because each unique opportunity prepared me for the possibilities! I learned that I could do many things if I put aside the need to know everything first.
John Wooden put it this way: “Things turn out best for the people that make the best of the way things turn out.”