3 Things You Can Do to Evolve Your Career

WRITTEN BY NICOLE ENTZEROTH | 5 Minute Read

When it comes to evolving your career, things can get dicey. Comments pop in your head like Oooo, you changed career paths. Interesting. Somehow “interesting” becomes synonymous with “yikes” and you begin to wonder if you’re better off staying right where you are.

In reality, there’s no such thing as changing career paths.

Instead - it all comes down to how you’re evolving, day in and day out. How you’re showing up differently. How the work you produce is reflective of the change happening internally. Sure, your job title or industry may change, but those are secondary to how you’re evolving in the first place. You set the ripple effect into motion.

Let’s eavesdrop for a second.

I overheard a conversation the other day that went something like this–and yes I’m unashamed of eavesdropping if it’s on par with something that should really be in a TED Talk.

Location: Walgreens, Time: 7:04 pm

Person 1: I saw this Tik Tok the other day where this girl was reviewing a book about how fear is the most ordinary thing about us and we let it control us. We fixate on it like it’s the most interesting thing about us when really it’s the dumbest, and the most boring. She said something after that about how each one of us has original ideas. We gotta let those control us, not fear. She was using a tiny microphone too, pretty dope.

Person 2: Woah, yeah. I like that. What’s the name of the book?

Person 1: I think something like Big Hustle? Oh wait, no. Big Magic. Yeah, that’s it.

Your original ideas aren’t boring, they’re Big Magic.

Often times when we have a creative thought, we shut it down with internal dialogue that might 

sound like: That’s dumb, no one would like it. That’s been done before. No one cares besides you.

The reality?

We hear great ideas everyday, but it takes one specific idea to move us. One specific idea moves us because it’s expressed in a way that we need, or in a way that we haven’t crossed paths with before. Your idea is this certain way for someone else. Think of your idea as a key that is the only thing that will fit into the lock of someone else’s mind and/or heart. And if you’re not convinced, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, The danger of a single story, nails this idea better than I can.

Here’s how to incorporate this idea into your evolution at work:

1. Embrace your ideas, not your fears.

Instead of fixating on fear–the most boring, most ordinary part of us –allow the original ideas you have control your next moves. When you’re not on the clock, set a time for 10 minutes and write down any and all ideas you have for your current role that could foster growth in both you and your organization. For example, my list would look something like this:

• Revamp our marketing strategy to serve, not sell.

• Spend more time researching what I don’t know as much about.

• Suggest resources to my team that don’t always have to be work-related.

• Ask questions about what other people do to inform what I’m doing.

2. Advocate for yourself.

Naturally, the ideas you have for your current role are going to need some consent, and this is where advocating for yourself comes in clutch. There’s a plethora of advice out there on how to advocate for yourself, but our #1 tip is this: focus on how your idea will not only benefit you, but your organization as a whole. When your boss can see the larger picture, they’re much more likely to A-okay it then ehhhh it. For example, advocating for myself for my first idea might look something like this:

“I’m interested in revamping our marketing strategy to serve our audience above anything else. I think this will help our organization have a stronger, more authentic social media presence than when we’re more focused on promoting/selling. I’ve noticed that Jenna Kutcher does a good job of this, and can send you some examples!”

3. Make failure a habit.

Let’s go back to the Walgreens conversation and zoom in on the words Person 1 said in the beginning: “We fixate on it [fear] like it’s the most interesting thing about us when really it’s the dumbest, and the most boring.”

The fear of failure is boring.

Making failure a habit is transformational.

What does making failure a habit look like at work?

• Trying a new approach to something you’ve done a million times before.

• Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations.

• Giving your all to something when the outcome is uncertain.

How does making failure a habit help you evolve your career?

• You begin to bring people, opportunities, and ideas to the surface that would not have crossed your path otherwise.

• You expect failure rather than fear it, making you more resilient and susceptible to change.

• You realize that the only person truly standing in your way is yourself, and you MOVE.

If nothing else, remember this.

Let your original ideas control you, not your fears. When you do this, evolution has no choice but to happen to you.

Better yet? Your original idea has the power to shift someone else into a new mindset and action plan, just like the conversation in Walgreens did for me.