I had a light bulb moment recently. A week after a long conversation with a working professional, it magically occurred to me that this person was telling me something I didn't hear. I have played our conversation over in my head several times. (Yes, I tend to do that.)
My colleague was unsure that the position he currently held had any "legs." That is, he felt that while things were good now, he didn't see it possessing real success measured by his standards. We talked of solutions and searching for other positions but the bottom line was, and he said this, "I want to affect change." As I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes you don't have to leave town to find nirvana.
So, here is my reaction to those who may be in a similar spot-- something I wish I had verbalized during my conversation: You have to decide your level of professional commitment to either an idea and/or to a place where fresh ideas can be carried out.
Inside my own head, I continued, "It seems like you're talking about landing some kind of commitment from a company that you hope will pay you do what you'd like to do. Define "I want to affect change." What does that mean? For me, I don't affect change so much as strive to provoke thought. I think change is one result of thought.
A few days later, I got the chance to say out loud what I was only thinking before, and did so with someone else who is plotting their next iteration while in the middle of a pretty good gig. I remembered to check her pulse for settling in and staying in one place as she does not have a history of doing that. And, most big news companies do not put people in other countries and pay them to live and report from there. Not anymore.
Commitment to a cause or belief is important. Just be sure that the company (The Man?) is willing to commit to you as well.
*Chantal de la Rionda edits this blog
