What’s Luck Got to Do with Your Career?

 

The career decisions and choices you make may be influenced by both positive and negative unplanned events. New opportunities, life changes, job loss. What should you do when the unexpected happens? Read this article to learn more about the importance of how your respond.
 Career & Work Life Matters
ISSN 2150-6299
Vol 2, no. 13

Sign with Lucky and One Way

Prepare for Luck?

What’s luck got to do with it?

I have just finished reading the book  Luck is no Accident: Making the most of happenstance in your life and career, by John Krumboltz and Al Levin.  The basic message of this book is that although our careers are often shaped by unplanned events or happenstances,  “luck is no accident.” How you respond to unplanned events matters.

What is your experience?

When you think about your own career, what influenced you to make the choices you have made so far? If you browse career-related books, or talk to career professionals you will probably find that they emphasize planning and taking a systematic approach to managing your career. You may be asking yourself “why plan if things are so unpredictable?”

In this book, the authors drawn on the experiences of people whose careers were affected by unplanned events, both positive and negative. Based on these stories, they describe ways to “take action to create your own luck.”

Below are some of the highlights from the tips they offer.  They include 3 steps: preparing for action, overcoming obstacles, and taking action.
1. Some of the things you can do to prepare yourself for action are:

  • intentionally do one thing that you do not usually do
  • look for a problem and figure out ways to solve it
  • write down small action steps that are doable.

2. Some of the ways to overcome obstacles include:

  • examine any beliefs about success or failure that may be getting in your way
  • anticipate fear and stress and learn how to relax your mind and body so that the experience is manageable
  • take note of small steps and celebrate successes along the way
  • practice the things you want to be good at find others willing to help you and give you support and feedback

3. Some of the ways to take action include:

  • talk with others, ask questions, learn about their experience, and share your ideas
  • choose an area you want to know more about and learn about it
  • initiate or join a project or group activity based on a common interest or goal
There are just a few of the ideas shared by these authors to get you started. If you are like most people, you will also have personal experience of unplanned events.  Don’t forget what you already know.Choose one experience, either positive or negative, and answer the following questions to tap into the expertise you have already.

  • What was the event? Write a brief description of what happened, who was involved, and what the outcome was?
  • How did you feel at the time?
  • What actions, if any, did you take?
  • Now that you are looking back, how do you feel?
  • Would you do anything differently?
  • What is the one thing that you learned from your experience that you could draw on next time the unexpected happens?
Share your experience below.
How have your responded to unplanned events? What have you learned that might be helpful to others?

August 18th, 2011 in archives | tags: , , , , , , ,

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