Everyone loves a great story.

Human beings are wired to consider their experiences as narratives, which is why the best films, books, plays and TV shows are so powerful and leave us feeling upbeat and sometimes euphoric. How many times have you heard the phrase, "the story of my life," for example, or heard someone talk about who they would cast in the movie version of their life? Your life is like a story, and within the larger story are smaller tales, and you are the author of them all.

Your career development path is no exception. Like so many of us, you probably had to start small, work hard, take some chances, make significant connections and catch a few lucky breaks. And then, in the middle of your career development story, you may have experienced some form of adversity that led to a breakthrough. This is a familiar, yet compelling narrative. The problem is that too many people get stuck in the middle of their career development stories. They reach a certain level and then repeat the same chapter or the same scene indefinitely.

If this has happened to you and you feel stuck with your career development path, it might be because you’ve stopped taking control and acting as the author of your story. Perhaps you’ve put your career development in the hands of others, like the powers that be within your organization. Or maybe you’ve just become uninspired and feel somewhat disengaged.

The truth is that you alone can propel your story forward. You are not only the author but are also the main character in your career development novel, and you may have begun to focus too much on the supporting characters or other distractions that are preventing you from the role you wish to play.

The time to take control of your career and your development story is now. You can’t solely depend on others to make your dreams come true and give you the happy ending you deserve. You must bring it to life and write it yourself.

Do you feel like you're stuck in Act 2 of your movie? Are you feeling reluctant to participate in the dramatic events that give your story meaning, purpose and forward momentum? Are you afraid that you won't be able to craft the perfect, satisfying ending?

Here are some tips to help you take back control.

Define Success

One crucial aspect of creating a strong character—and thus a strong story—is to give your hero a clearly defined goal and establish what constitutes success. What does success look like for you? What role do you want to play? More importantly, what is the impact you want to have? Too many of us reach a specific point on the career development path and forget to inspire ourselves with visions of success.

A lot of leaders work with mentors and superiors to define and envision their career goals. This is essential. But too often, people become dependent on others to help elevate their career instead of genuinely taking ownership for it themselves. People will come and go in both our personal and professional lives and taking ownership must start with you by defining what it is you want for yourself.

If you are not getting the support you need to define success, it's up to you to ask for it and seek out the right people to help guide you. Evaluate what success looks like in your mind and pay attention to the stories of others that you hope to emulate. From there, you can work backwards to outline your narrative path. Once you've done the hard work of identifying and defining what success means to you, you can bring others on board to adequately support you and hold you to task on your commitments and the path you have defined for yourself.

Challenge Yourself to Learn and Grow

Compelling characters and narratives are fueled and driven by growth. The hero of a story does not typically start out with having everything necessary for them to succeed. They need to experience failures, learn from mistakes, eliminate blind spots and continuously improve their knowledge and experience.

As you build your internal self-awareness, you will become better able to evaluate yourself for blind spots and areas of potential improvement. Develop metrics and benchmarks to help you measure growth. And remember—one of the most satisfying aspects of any story is when the hero turns a weakness into a strength. Forrest Gump and The Karate Kid serve as excellent examples of this. Challenge yourself to identify those aspects of yourself that you have always viewed as weaknesses, and then transform them into the elements at which you excel. I promise you can do it, and these transformations will serve as some of the most satisfying scenes in your career development story. Lastly, always be willing to give and receive feedback. Being genuinely self-aware is about having a balanced perspective on internal and external influences.

Document Your Progress

The best storytellers don't just tell stories—they keep journals to track their progress, ideas, visions, beliefs and emotions. Joan Didion, Ray Bradbury, Virginia Woolf and countless other authors and creators have engaged in this practice.

As you write in your journal, it's important to track your stream of thoughts, and I encourage you to design a simple structure that works for you to help gather your thoughts and ideas as this will make it easier to tackle them on an ongoing basis. Here is a simple example: write down how you have been feeling, what has been going well, and what has been a challenge for you. Highlight any wins or situations where you received a rave review from a client, peer, boss etc. Be honest with yourself about your thoughts and emotions. Pause, reflect and celebrate those moments of pride and if you need to take a different approach, get clear on what that is, write it down, and then take action.

The power in journaling and writing things down is that it makes it real, cements it in our conscious mind. We are ten times more likely to act when we write our intentions and commitments down on paper. Check in weekly on your progress and give yourself stars, happy faces or grades on your progress; it helps you feel good, and when we are in a positive frame of mind we are more likely to move things forward. Journaling also enables you to maintain the headspace necessary for creating a positive story in your mind, and it will support you in staying focused on moving forward toward your goals.

Seek Wisdom and Guidance Outside the Office

You don't have to feel like you're on your own when it comes to your career development and it is wise not to rely solely on your organization and leadership team for support. Seek out external guidance and perspective, hire a coach or find an external mentor to help guide and support you. Luke Skywalker had to travel light years to find Yoda, and you may need to make a similar effort to find your career development guru. Thankfully, living in our hyper-connected world means that you are only a text, email, or video chat away from transformative mentorship. Ask the people you admire who they have sought for advice and wisdom. Make connections with those who have helped others reach similar career goals. When you do this, you give yourself the ability to craft a storyline that's connected to a larger, universal truth that is full of great experience and valuable lessons.

Can I Help You Craft Your Career-Development Story?

I love helping organizations and leaders to become unstuck, so they can accomplish their goals and relish in their accomplishments and success. If you feel like you're merely repeating the same scene over and over, Leaders Edge is here for you. Please email me at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca to learn more. I can’t wait to hear your story!

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