I got my first resume job with a phone call from a connection of a connection who had found me via Craigslist.
“Can you write resumes?” she asked.
“I can write anything,” I replied.
I was a grad student, creative writer, published poet, writing teacher, and owner of a small copywriting company. I had dreams of becoming a PhD and a published author who made an impact on the world. I was already sleeping only a few hours per night so I could run a copywriting company, teach at a non-profit school, and take care of a kindergartener while preparing for the baby on the way.
I got the resume-writing job, and soon realized I loved it — and I was good at it. I became a Certified Professional Resume Writer and career coach. I pivoted my graduate studies to focus on career development. I still taught writing at the college and high school levels. I balanced parenting with working too much. I needed to make a positive impact on the world. This seems like a good and positive mission, right? Well, right, but also wrong.
What was wrong was my “why.” I wanted to make an impact because I worried that what I was doing wasn’t enough. I was fairly convinced that **I** wasn’t enough. There were days when I would hang up the phone after having a positive conversation with a client only to laugh at myself — if this person only knew they were speaking to me — they would never call again, no matter how much I helped them. I listed all my faults, and marveled that I could be taken seriously. Imposter syndrome had set in and had taken hold of the very roots of my confidence.
Fortunately, my life today is a lot different than it was back then. Sure, I still have to fight back the weeds of imposter syndrome that occassionally wrap their grubby thorns around me when I’m trying to bloom. And, I still hope to make a positive impact. But, my “why” has shifted quite a bit. I started noticing the moments when my resume-writing, career coaching, parenting, and just being made a difference, and I started enjoying and celebrating them. I realized that I made the biggest impact when I embraced myself and made positive connections with others, not when I tried to hide under false “professional” masks or focused on all my shortcomings.
Why am I telling you this stody today? Because as I continue this work, I find more and more folks living a life similar to the one the old me would have lived. They’re convinced they have to earn their worth — that they aren’t enough. They’re focusing so hard on making an impact or achieving a result that they miss the wins they’ve already accomplished. Maybe, they’ve found something that they love to do, but they worry that **it** isn’t enough, so instead of doing or chasing that thing they love, they do or chase the thing they feel might help them to be enough.
What I want you to know today is that no matter what, you are enough. That thing you are passionate about — that work you want to do, **it** is enough too. So, know that you are enough, and now go do the work you want to do. Don’t become trapped in your mind, afraid that you need to do somethng outside of your passion or skillset to make a contribution to the world or your family. When you show up as yourself –100% committed to be the best you that you can be and following your unique strengths and skills, you add much more to the world than you ever could when constantly striving to be something you’re not.
If you want to chat about how to show up as the most authentic you in your profession or how to chase your dream of what you really “want to be when you grow up,” I would love to talk. Text me at 708-730-4694 or schedule a free call here: https://morleycareersolutions.com/contact/