This is a short excerpt from the chapter
She seemed depressed on our weekly call. “I can’t take much more of this. I’m not sure how much longer I can stay in this job. I want to quit now, but I know that I shouldn’t.”
We discussed what had happened at work and what she could do to address those issues and hopefully improve the situation. More importantly, we also discussed a plan for the future, how to make the best of the situation until she moved on for a better opportunity, and a timeline for the next steps. We established a tentative date when she thought she might be ready to leave her job.
Setting that date is more important than you might think. One of the worst things about an unbearable situation is not knowing when it will ever end. When you create a future “finish line,” you immediately feel better because you’ve made a decision, and you know something better is coming.
"History never repeats itself, but the Kaleidoscopic combinations of the pictured present often seem to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends."
— Mark Twain
However, even when you’re suffering, the last thing you should do is make a rash decision and “leap out of the frying pan and into the fire.” If you don’t take the time to fully understand what’s going wrong, why it went wrong, and how to avoid those mistakes in the future, you’re most likely doomed to repeat this unfortunate history (or create a new variant of it).
If everything were 100% on track with your work and life, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Something you’re experiencing in your life isn’t ideal. You’re probably frustrated by a situation at work. You want something more. Something different. Something better.
Don’t we all?
But, before you can get to where you want to be, you must know where you are and understand where you have been. When I work one-on-one with my clients, they receive “homework exercises” to help us understand their past, look for patterns, assess what’s happening now, and explore future plans.
This chapter gives you an idea of what that in-depth homework is like. Of course, I won’t be able to discuss your answers to the questions below (unless you work with me or join my community). But, it is still beneficial for you to capture your thoughts and use that information to plan a path forward to creating your Invincible Career.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates
How are you feeling right now? Are you doing well at work? Is your career on track? Are you happy with where your life is going?
It can be challenging to think about all of this in the abstract. You often have a gut feeling about how your work is going and a general feeling about your life. But you can’t put your finger precisely on the issues causing those feelings.
I do value qualitative judgments (e.g., feeling happy or a little sad), but I’m also a fan of quantitative assessments to understand the scale of a problem. So, I created a series of statements to assess how happy and successful you feel in your career and life. You can take my free quiz online to find out! Your score will be automatically calculated and emailed to you.
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📣 Recommending my newsletter on social media! 📣
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Larry Cornett is a leadership coach and business advisor who hosts a private mastermind community for ambitious professionals with weekly challenges, office hours, and confidential support. If you’re interested in starting your own business or side hustle someday (or accelerating an existing one), check out his “Employee to Solopreneur” course (launching later this year).
Larry lives in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with his wife and children, and a gigantic Great Dane. He does his best to share advice to help others take complete control of their work and life. He’s also on Twitter @cornett.
Book Chapter - Assessing Your Current Situation (Issue #353)