Often times, our experience sets us off down a clearly marked and outlined path. On this path, we can clearly see what the next two or five or more years hold for us. By walking the path, you will get a certain set of new experiences, certain new responsibilities, and hopefully, master a new set of skills. This path seems easy.
The paths that we walk can diverge from the clear markings at any moment. A wide variety of variables influence what could happen:
- Your current job changes unexpectedly due to changes at your company (M&A, financial difficulties, leadership changes, organizational changes, etc.).
- A new offer comes your way that is too good to pass up.
- You decide you want to do something different.
- The economy changes.
- Your industry changes.
At any moment, the change can happen. Sometimes you see it coming but often times you don’t.
Being aware of the shifting nature of your path is important to future-proofing your career. Even if you want to stay at the same company for the next twenty years of your career, you must walk the shifting path on that more narrow space. There’s no such thing as long-term certainty. All of life is about risk management.
If you operate with the knowledge that change is imminent and unexpected, you will be more prepared for it once it does arrive. The hardest part of dealing with change is the first days of it when the people impacted are in denial. Navigating these early days successfully is the single best way to quickly arrive on a newly cleared path.