Do you know why you were put in this job search?

I just got back from drinks with some friends.  One person, Joe, was telling me that he needs to get his knee replaced.  Seeing that he didn’t quite look like a card-carrying member of AARP, I asked him why.  Running up mountains as fast as he can to get his heart rate close to 200.  Marathons, triathlons, ultra runs, you name it.  He’s done it.  Well apparently, he’s kind of an extremist (and that’s an understatement!).  He just got a double hernia from weightlifting.  Way to go, Joe!

He longs to get his knee replaced so he can take that 100 mile bike ride again, to run up the mountains, to hit the training circuit…hard!

And this got me thinking.  How many people are so focused on being who they’ve always been that they forget to think about who they’re supposed to be?  Maybe Joe doesn’t need to achieve all that he has already.  Maybe it’s time for Joe to take his energies in another direction (before there is no Joe anymore!).  Maybe this aching knee and double hernia are just signs that Joe needs to head down a new path?  Is Joe reading the signs that are being put right in front of him?  Maybe, but to him what says “Proceed with Caution” may really mean “Wrong Way”.

I wonder how many other people are misinterpreting (or just plain ignoring) the signs right in front of them?

I see it happen all of the time with people in their job search.  Craig, a CIO, has been doing the same thing for twenty years.  One day Craig finds himself out of work, only to go right back to looking for the next CIO gig.  He never even wanted to be a CIO.  He longed to own a business.  Yet, instead of realizing now is the time.  Now is the perfect time to figure it all out.  Research what’s out there.  Buy that business.  Maybe start his own.  Instead of moving forward, Craig slams into reverse and presses the accelerator.  It’s no wonder he’s miserable for twenty more years.

Are you ignoring the signs?  Are you so focused on being who you always were that you’re forgetting to think about who you’re supposed to be?  Maybe there’s a reason you were put in this job search.  Maybe it’s time for you to take your energies in another direction.  Maybe it’s time to throw away the rear-view mirror and focus forward.  And see what possibilities might lie ahead.

Maybe it’s time to realize that there’s more to life than the life you’ve already lived.  Even if you have to go through a few knees to get there.  Right, Joe?!