Career Tip 3: Get Your Wheels Turning – Thought and Action Leads to Success
Thought and Action Leads to Success.
The Job Dog finds that a client’s overall balance between action (explore) and thought (evaluate) is highly predictive of career transition success. Action is anything accomplished on your feet: going, seeing, or meeting. Thought is anything you accomplish in your seat: thinking or considering.
Far too many people think (evaluate) at a 95% level and act (explore) at a 5% level. There needs to be balance. There are essentially four primary thought and action patterns to consider.
The Four Quadrants
Here are the characteristics of operating in each quadrant.
If you find yourself in this quadrant, you are likely coasting. That is fine until you realize the only direction you can go while coasting is downhill. Procrastination or some degree of depression may be affecting your progress. You may also be realizing your previous strategies have not worked and you are ready to give up without telling anyone – including yourself. Have you been here? Are you here now?
This is the procrastination or immobilization quadrant. As we said above, the more mature, educated, and intelligent our client is, the more likely they exist in this quadrant. They analyze everything to the point of paralysis. Have you been here? Are you here now?
This category is often reflective of fear and this is when we see clients in a panic-like state. These individuals keep repeating the same actions and expecting different results. We realize this is a cliché – it is also a truth. Of course, act. However, first apply balanced thought. Actions, when guided by knowledge can produce opportunities. Have you been here? Are you here now?
This quadrant represents someone who focuses, thinks, and then is highly motivated to move into action. Think, and then act. Repeating this thought and action cycle will result in the career you are seeking. Have you been here? Are you here now? If so, then you will successfully complete your career transition.
Checkpoint
- Where do you tend to operate within the four quadrants?
- Using the quadrants above, evaluate your performance daily. Record that on a calendar. In-your-seat thought must be balanced with on-your-feet action. Keep track and note your patterns over the coming weeks.
- If you are feeling a sense of desperation at this time in your search, you may have been thinking and in your seat a bit too long. Guide your job search by balancing thinking with doing.
