Let's Have a Few Words

There are words that have power and evoke an immediate reaction. Catastrophic, terminal and devastation are all words that command our attention, causing all else to fade into the background.

On the other hand, distraction is a word I would put right up there with “stuff”; in fact, if it had a color it would be beige. I recently heard myself give the excuse that I was “distracted” as a reason for not paying attention while doing some mundane task that I bungled. A few days later I was flipping through the TV channels as a diversion from a cruddy day at work, and came across the History Channel. The commentator, in a French accent, spoke of the grisly details of a torture method used centuries ago known as ‘distraction’- literally the pulling apart of someone by tying their arms and legs to horses who ran off in opposite directions. The word suddenly took on a whole new meaning, yielding the same power of catastrophic, terminal, and devastation. Nothing worse than literally being pulled apart. The color of this word, red.

In the modern context, distractions are more civilized but just as deadly. Think of the countless and horrible deaths caused by someone distracted by a text while driving. Less dramatic, but just as devastating, is how much we distract (pull ourselves apart) from focusing on the most important things in our lives: our families, friends, health and career.

One word I am an expert in: career. We spend more awake time at work than anywhere else. However, we find countless ways of distracting ourselves from being truly present. Gossip, the problems of others, technology, or tasks that really have no impact. But then a day comes when you need more money, work-life balance, a sense of fulfillment, or worse, your company is going through some major change. You have no clue what to do. You have been so “distracted”, you haven’t been paying attention to your career.

Distractions take our eyes off the path. You might very well have intended to get together a spiffy resume, check out the market, do some research, or reach out to someone about career options. However, direction, NOT Intention, determine your path. You must move in a straight line towards your goals and block out all distractions to get there. (Right, like that’s easy.) That is where my co-workers and I come into play. I have spoken to countless insurance job candidates in situations who say “I really need to get my career moving forward”; usually because someone not as talented had been promoted, or they stayed with a company till the bitter end. Suddenly all distractions are stripped away because they have no job. Unfortunately, they have limited their options. Worse, is the person who stays at a company, not living up to their full potential. The excuse is always “I got distracted so I didn’t have time to update that resume”, “I was going to look at the job boards or call that recruiter back.” Sometimes it is a major life issue with their kids or health, but often they can’t remember, it’s just stuff.

So my words of advice to you: Don’t let “stuff” distract you from achieving your career goals. The results can be catastrophic. Stay in touch with us, your recruiters, and we will help keep you focused on moving forward on the right path.