After one of the worst winters on record in New England, with frigid temperatures for weeks on end and snow totals that forced even the most stalwart Yankee stock to stay inside, Spring is finally here. There is a verdant smell, a warming of the soil and a warming of the sun that make us all feel reborn, revitalized and ready to make things happen. It is also a season of color: delicate yellow-green of new leaves before they change to emerald, green grass, brilliant yellow wild parakeets and pale pastels of dogwoods and flowering cherry trees. And daffodils everywhere. For about the past 20 years I have planted between 50 and 100 daffodil bulbs on my property, and each Spring the bulbs awaken from their deep winter sleep, sense the soil warming and the sun glowing, and they literally pop up through the ground, surprising me every year with their strength, determination and beauty. Each year they are fresh, they are new, and with their rebirth they enrich our lives.
As with the daffodil bulbs, sometimes our thoughts and ideas go through periods of winter sleep: they get stale or repetitive and lack the luster and power to inspire and influence and innovate. Spring is here, and it is a new beginning, so let's marshal our resources and think fresh, new thoughts. Let's be innovative and daring. Let's be fearless in spirit and expansive in thought. Let's look forward and look up to make our careers and our lives as full and meaningful as possible.
Now that we are energized, and hopefully intrigued, let's begin to take stock. If you've been reading my CareerMuse musings you know I frequently pose questions for you to ask yourself... so here they are.
- When was the last time you suggested a truly different approach to doing something at work?
- When was the last time you made a suggestion to which a colleague responded?... "We've never considered anything like that before."
- When was the last time you really took a risk at work by doing something that was a significant stretch for you?
If your answer to any of these three questions is 'never' or 'more than three years ago' it's time to rethink and retool. Mind you, I am not suggesting making outrageous, impractical comments simply for their own sake, but I am suggesting that the rare flash of brilliance is far more rewarding and more meaningful than the safe approach. Safe is good, but safe typically does not move events forward by leaps and bounds. Taking risks does not mean being irresponsible or outrageous: it means stepping outside our comfort zone and truly stretching for that next big idea, that next big job, that next big accomplishment.
Like the daffodil, we need our rest and rejuvenation, but if we hope to come awake with vigor and zeal, fresh new thoughts are fundamental. Although I have not heard thoughts described by colors, it would not surprise me if newly formulated thoughts carry that same lovely yellow-green shade, turning into bright emerald green as they emerge fully articulated.
While you're pondering thoughts as colors, take a look at the three questions above and consider what fresh, new thoughts you might conjure up; what innovative approaches to processes or methods you could design; and what stretch assignments you might pursue. You never know, Spring may just be a new beginning for you as well as for the daffodil.
