How to Be Flexible and Stay Positive when Changing Your Career

Many years ago, a supervisor of mine once told me, "There is no such thing as a problem. There are only challenges that can be overcome." This is the way I have approached life ever since hearing those words.

Although a "problem" can be viewed as solvable, the word itself just sounds negative in comparison to the word "challenge." A problem is more like a matter of fact. When you think to yourself that you have a problem, there are many negative feelings that can accompany those thoughts. It's as if the problem makes a statement such as "This is the way things are."

But the word "challenge" is much different. Instead of making a blanket statement, it presents more of a question, which is "Are you up to this?" When presented with a question such as this, it requires you to think. Unlike a problem, where you tend to get wrapped up in the emotions of it, a challenge provokes you to take some sort of action. There's that word again! I sure don't like dealing with problems, but I'm always up for a challenge!

Approaching life's problematic issues as challenges that can be solved can do wonders for your frame of mind. Challenges are something that test your abilities. In order to overcome them, you have to take a proactive approach and call on your skills and creativity to work through them and resolve them. They are like little puzzles that you have to figure out. There is really no need to spend time feeling down about them, as challenges are temporary. As soon as you figure out the puzzle, you're done and you can move on.

When following your career plan, it is very important to remain flexible and to stay as positive as you possibly can. If you are a bit of a perfectionist, this may be hard to do at times, as you may judge your progress based on how well you adhere to your original plan. If this is you, then keep in mind that you created your plan. It didn't even exist until you wrote it out. So as the creator of your plan, you have the ability to change it about any way you need to adapt to changes in your situation. Change is actually a very positive thing. It challenges you to think and work through various issues. So look at change as your ability to be flexible and make things better.

Try not to judge your progress based on how well you adhere to your original plan. Instead, judge your progress on how many of your goals you achieve. The process of achieving them is not what's most important. It's the accomplishment of your goals that counts. Your plan should be viewed as only a guide on how to get from where you are now to where you want to be. But just like a roadmap, there are many alternative roads and avenues you can take to get there. So if you run into an unexpected roadblock along the way, be flexible and stay positive.

There's nothing wrong with taking a detour, as long as it gets you to your final destination. It could very well be that detour that makes the journey all the more interesting.

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Copyright (c) 2010 Catherine Trebble. All Rights Reserved.
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