Are You A Tourist To Your Own Career?

Sometimes I get overcharged,
that's when you see sparks.
They ask me where the hell I'm going?
At a 1000 feet per second,

hey man, slow down, slow down,
idiot, slow down, slow down.

The Tourist - Radiohead

I fondly remember spending a college semester abroad in Oxford, England. It was a wonderful opportunity to surround myself in a different culture and experience the world from a different perspective. It was also a chance to visit all the places I had read about in books and seen on television. Along with my fiancée (now wife), we discovered ruined remains of long abandoned castles, quaint villages with thatch-covered homes, and charming roadside pubs.

We also made a point to visit London. London is a magnificent city with no lack for things to see and do. If visiting unprepared, it can be overwhelming. So being the kind of guy who wants to be prepared for anything, I made a very detailed schedule for our first visit. When I say ‘detailed’, I mean down to the minute. How else can you expect to see Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, British Museum, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the National Gallery all in one day? That’s a lot to do and only a detailed plan can make sure it all happens.

The first thing you realize when trying to stick to a very full schedule is that other people may not want to cooperate. Sure, my fiancée was playing along, but the Londoners operating the Underground (their version of our subways), serving tea, and guiding the site tours just wouldn’t keep to my strategically created schedule. I even suspected my fiancée was an accomplice to their desire to subvert my plans. However, despite their best effort, they couldn’t break my resolve and by the end of the day we accomplished my mission of visiting each place on the list. We could leave the city saying that we had been to all the places you associate with London.

You may be thinking, “Sure, you accomplished your objective, but did you really enjoy the experience?” The answer would have to be ‘no.’ And worse, those around me didn’t enjoy it either. Sadly, I hardly remember any of those places on that trip. I was driven by the importance of being able to say I had visited those places.

My mad tourist dash seems silly, yet how many times have we done the same thing in our careers. So many of us race from task to task, project to project, and job to job. Perhaps we do this so we can check them off our strategically created career plans. Or maybe we become seduced by the thought that the next thing ahead is better than what we have right now. Ultimately, we find ourselves trapped by the notion that the destination becomes far more important than the journey itself and we lose ourselves in the process.

So, what can we do?

First and foremost, let’s slow down.
It’s hard to notice things when we’re running forward at 200 mph. At those high speeds, the scenery just blurs together and we miss potentially life-altering opportunities and experiences. We’re not aware of those moments of serendipity when we discover something new by accident that can add meaning and purpose to our work.

However, slowing down can be difficult and scary. When we’re not confronted with the relentless pace of a fast-lane life, we have more time to reflect on our current career path and daydream about other possibilities. We might find that a change in direction means redefining our notions of success or reconsidering our identity. We might find, as Stephen Covey illustrates, that the ladder of success we’ve dutifully climbed is leaning against the wrong wall. It takes courage and humility to begin the descent and find the wall that is personally significant for us.

Focus on experiences over objectives.
Objectives are rigid, punishing structures that emphasize one place in time and reward only a few outcomes. They beckon to us that our actions are merely a means to an end. If we do not achieve our objective, then we have failed. On the other hand, if we focus on experiences, we open ourselves to wider possibilities. We might find that by heading down an intriguing alleyway toward the British Museum, we discover a unique pub populated with locals who engage us in the kinds of discussions that change our thinking.

I’m not suggesting that we completely abandon our objectives; these are the places we want to go. Just remember that objectives are one point in the journey. There is a lot of space in-between to have career altering experiences if we choose to notice them. Just see where it goes and allow yourself to enjoy the ride.

Consider Intentional Wandering.
After reflecting on the first trip to London, I understood racing from point to point was actually quite pointless. How did I enrich my London experience, and ultimately my life, by adhering to rigid objectives? What moments of serendipity did I miss along the way? My fiancée and I did return to London after that initial trip. However, during this trip, we made time between museums, theatres, and tea at Harrods to curiously explore the alleyways, small shops, and gregarious pubs of the city. We chose not to be tourists madly racing to get from one site to the next, but instead, chose to be intentional wanderers seeking the thrill that unexpected surprises have to offer.

I’ll end with a question: What would happen if we allowed unexpected surprises to occur in our careers and work? Take some time today to slow down and think about it.

Posted by: Chris Bailey

Comments

[Louise Fletcher]

I love this advice Chris ... really excellent! And welcome to Career Hub :)

[Chris Bailey]

Thanks, Louise. It's great to be here among some truly great career thinkers.

[billiesucher]

Your post was a great diversion -- took me back to memories of London from a few years ago. I just have to add to your list of places to go see, though: 1. The Courtauld Gallery/Sommerset House (AMAZING) plus St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. It, too, is an amazing experience! And last (not least) welcome to CareerHub!

[Chris Bailey]

Thanks, Billie. On another trip to London for Christmas a few years later, we heard a concert at St-Martin-in-the-Fields. I don't think I've been in a place with more amazing acoustics. And we found it on a lark...was walking by and it was a free event. Just another example of what some intentional wandering can do, eh?