Bloom Where You Are Planted
We often consider feelings of pressure and stress as negative emotions, but they can create magnificent things. A diamond results from a combination of heat and incredible pressure. A caterpillar must break through the pressure of a cocoon to emerge as a butterfly. A clam has to put up with the stress of an annoying grain of sand as a beautiful pearl is made. And even flowers find a way to push through a crack in the pavement.
The past few years have placed incredible pressures and stresses on all of us. But even if we have found ourselves planted under the metaphorical concrete, can’t we look for the crack to find our way out? How can we be like the beautiful flowers that rise from the concrete to bloom where we are planted? As a career consultant tuned in to the pressures felt by employers, applicants, and recruiters, and as a single mother who is proud to have raised two amazing sons, I have found a variety of ways we can choose to bloom and be better suited to these changing times:
1. Embrace Change
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus reminds us that the only constant is change. Yet as uncomfortable as change is, it forces growth. When I was working for a Big Three automaker and progressing up the corporate ladder very quickly, along came the 1980s and a major decline in the market; the automotive industry faced a temporary challenge that affected other industries as well. The result was a mass exodus from my birthplace of Michigan. People at the time quipped, “Would the last person to leave Michigan please turn out the lights?” My job was not in big jeopardy, but the potential for advancement was very limited, and the position didn’t align with my passions. So, I took a calculated risk to pursue something else. I grew personally and professionally from the change I embraced. Had that market decline not happened, I would have never tried my hand at an entirely different career path that I love.
2. Have a Determined, Positive Mindset
As I’ve mentioned, a positive mindset can make all the difference. Author Maya Angelou was right when she said, “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” A client told me that a job candidate brought up how his getting laid off allowed him to become a better person and take more online courses that were helpful in expanding his skills. Focus on the positives instead of the negatives, and you will always have an advantage in your personal and professional life.
3. We Have to Give to Receive
Industrialist Henry Ford said it best: “To do more for the world than the world does for you — that is success.” In times of personal challenge, it’s easy to turn inward. It’s normal to bury ourselves inside our shells. However, when we instead turn outward and help someone else, we can boost our self-esteem, knowing we did something to benefit someone else. It also takes the focus off fears and apprehensions. When an employer asked a candidate I had referred for an interview, “What has been your biggest accomplishment?” the candidate described his experience in the Big Brother program. Seeing the young man he mentored receive a scholarship for his hard work and good grades brought satisfaction. The candidate was happy he was able to influence this young man to move to a better future. My client was so impressed that he made this candidate an offer. He felt that attitude would translate into his being a great team player and assisting other employees to make a solid contribution to the company.
Decide that you will bloom where you are planted. Show your own brilliance like the diamond. Bust out of whatever is cocooning you to become your own version of the butterfly. Let the many irritants you have encountered create your pearly vision of your future. Sometimes life is hard. Things don’t always go according to plan. But we always have control over how we respond. Blooming where we are planted is to make the choice to respond in a positive manner. By embracing the changes, having a determined, positive mindset, and focusing more on how we can help our fellow man, we bloom from that concrete that has weighed us down, emerging like that beautiful flower that radiates its beauty to the world.
