Work Anniversaries: A Good Time to Pause and Reflect to Move Forward

We recently celebrated our twenty-year wedding anniversary.  Twenty years! Almost hard to believe.

Each year on our anniversary we take time to pause and reflect on the past year, as well as on all of the years we’ve been together. We love to reminisce about what’s happened.

Fun things like:

• Whether or not Hubby should keep his “Movember” beard (yes; he looks adorable)
• Where should we go on our next big adventure trip, and where will we get a money tree to fund it
• Initial success of my Career Coaching biz and plans for future growth
• The dream house we will build someday

And more serious stuff:

• Remembering holding each other and the paws of our furry best friend as we said goodbye
• Thankful for health after both suffering injuries
• Forecasting the life of our eleven year old car that’s still running
• Savings plans to fund our other plans

We also look ahead, rolling our discussions into our plans for the future; some short-term and some long-term.

As I pause to look back at the past twenty years, here’s what I see:

• Happiness and Fun
• Personal growth
• Stability
• Enjoying the moments yet looking toward the future
• Learning and gaining strength

For the next twenty years and beyond, we are planning for and predicting the same.  Happiness. Growth. Learning. Fun. Enjoyment.

It’s good to take stock of where we are right now and where we want to be five, ten, twenty years down the road. If we need to make adjustments to reach our goals, now is the time to start doing so.

Similarly, work anniversaries are a good time to pause and reflect on our careers, to note where we are now and to redefine short-term as well as long-term career goals.  A great opportunity to strategize and plan the steps we need to take to achieve those goals.

How do we know if we are headed in the right direction career-wise? While each person’s situation will be different, in general here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Am I enjoying my work?
• Am I growing professionally, and is there opportunity for advancement? (assuming you want to advance)
• Does my job allow me to use new skills and keep up with my industry in ways that will benefit me should I need to/want to find a new job?
• Is there stability at my company (as much as there can be nowadays) or are layoffs imminent?
• Overall, am I in a position to get to where I want to be professionally?

There may be more questions to ask; these will get you started.

Most of the time we will find that our careers are on the right trajectory with only minor tweaks such as taking an online class or webinar to improve our skills or even get involved in industry associations to add to our resume.

If you find that you’re no longer happy at work, try to determine why.

• Do you still enjoy the people and the work but are frustrated due to lack of opportunity for advancement?
• Is it the environment at work, the people you work with, or even the particular industry – rather than the work itself – that makes you unhappy?

Whatever it is, take time to think and carefully consider next steps. Consult with a trusted friend or consider hiring a career coach to help.

The important thing is to periodically pause and reflect on your career to make sure you are on track to achieve your goals. This is your career; nurture it as you would any relationship you care about.