| At midlife and mid-career, your home, career and | | | | class," learning skills she'dnever use. |
| lifestyle havebecome part of your identity. A move | | | | "Why not take some personal days to look for a |
| to freedom means recognizingthe power of values | | | | new job? " herfriend suggested. "After all, you can |
| and the temptation of routines. | | | | do some seriousnetworking at this lunch." |
| Values | | | | "No," said Adrienne, " I'd rather go along with the |
| Often we don't realize how deeply we have | | | | program." |
| internalized ourvalues until we begin a search for a | | | | Alas, the program involved getting rid of Adrienne. |
| new life. After I left theacademic world, I realized | | | | To blast out of a comfort zone is as hard as getting |
| how much I valued rigorous thinkingand I still wince | | | | a space shippast the earth's gravitational pull. You |
| when someone talks about "proving ahypothesis." | | | | need rocket fuel whenyou find yourself saying, "I |
| As an employee of a huge software company, | | | | can't look for a new job (orconsider a move to a |
| Martin becameaccustomed to a competent, organized | | | | new city or work on my goals) because I haveto |
| workplace. When heinterviewed for jobs in the | | | | work in the garden (or bake cookies or rewrite a |
| nonprofit sector, he was dismayed. | | | | report threetimes). |
| "They support my core values of serving mankind | | | | The secret of blasting out is to let ourselves be |
| and protectingthe earth," he said, "but they are so | | | | pulled ratherthan pushed. Get hooked on a piece of |
| disorganized! They waste somuch time and money! I | | | | the new life -- a newsource of gravity, from a new |
| hadn't realized how that 'being organized'was so | | | | planet, that will pull you ever sogently in the |
| important to me." | | | | oppposite direction. |
| When people fail to honor their values, moving to a | | | | ********** |
| new life canseem like exchanging one trap for | | | | Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, career coach |
| another. | | | | andspeaker. She works with midlife, mid-career |
| Routines | | | | professionalswho want to get on the fast track to |
| We cling to routines because they're familiar and | | | | career freedom. |
| because theymake us feel competent. They often | | | | To be overwhelmed by a unique information |
| incorporate values we didn'tknow we had: "Not | | | | resource, visit . |
| making a fuss," "Being responsible," or even, | | | | Generous affiliate program for ebooks and more: |
| "Making time for leisure. | | | | Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. Author, Career Coach, Speaker |
| Routines can be traps. Adrienne knew her job would | | | | *The Fast Track to Career Freedom* |
| be gone insix months. One day she called to cancel a | | | | 505-534-4294 mailto:cathy@... |
| lunch meeting. She hadto attend a week-long "training | | | | |