Tools & Tips
Joyriding at Work: Learning To Be Flexible In Your Career

A fundamental part of Joyriding is expecting surprises and maintaining a flexible and open attitude toward whatever adventures come your way. There are many things that can take you off course from your Joyride - including reacting to a surprise rather than thoughtfully responding to it, seeing only one way of doing something rather than considering many options, being totally "attached" to a specific outcome without maintaining the flexibility to handle whatever pops up.

So how does this apply to your career? If you're like me - and a majority of people out there - you believe that nothing happens without a plan - I'm talking about a "career plan" here - the five year plan that almost every business book says you need to climb the corporate ladder and build a successful career. To a degree, having a plan works fabulously - you have to do certain things to attain certain achievements. But if your plans are too rigid, you run the risk of missing a lot of opportunities along the way. And that's not the only problem: sometimes your goal may be too small.

The secret is learning to be flexible enough to keep changing what we want while striving for a long-term goal and enjoying the ride along the way. And here's how to do it: Let go of attachment.

Stress and anxiety are created by the fear that things won't work out the way you want (your plan) unless a particular intention becomes a reality in your life. This is attachment and it's a surefire way to make yourself too stressed and rigid to notice opportunities and surprises that come your way - surprises that may not be part of your set career plan, but may serve to help you reach your ultimate goal.

So, if you want good stuff to happen, hold the intention without attachment.

Intention (a strong desire/career plan) without attachment (an unhealthy tie to a particular result) opens up all kinds of possibilities (opportunities) that you might not have considered.