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Tuesday, July 05, 2022

Who Do You Want To Be Today?

 Among the catalog of Oingo Boingo, the cool band with the horn section and pulsing rhythm and odd lyrics (1979-1985), one song that always struck me was "Who Do You Want To Be Today?" The point of the song was the singer was simply bored and deciding that they would simply decide on any given day what they wanted to be.

I had not thought a great deal about this song at all until a conversation last week with a departing colleague. During the course of our conversation, he very kindly offered to look as my resume for review.

I was appreciative, as this was a thing that I had been putting off for some time - not so much because it did not need to be done (it did), as much as I was at a loss of how to do - and specifically, how to address the fact that two years ago, I essentially went from the pinnacle of a reporting structure to a different career entirely.  It is an uncomfortable question that I have been at a loss to address both personally and professionally.

Of course, being the wise and aware person he is, he immediately caught it in my resume.  And made the not illogical comment "You will have address this in your overall narrative - which should indicate what you really want".  

In other words, who do you want to be?

This is the discussion I have been carefully avoiding with myself for two years.  It is simply easier to be the steer in the blizzard, head down and ploughing along, than actually think about such things.  

I know, I know - the economy being what it is, it is a terrible time to be going through some kind of career crisis of conscious.  In my defense, this is likely something I should have done two years ago and put off because it was simply too painful at the time.

But, really, who do I want to be today?  And equally as importantly, how do I get there?

I cannot, it seems, keep putting this off forever.

For completeness, the song.  Run time 3:17 or so; turn volume down.



7 comments:

  1. Nylon126:51 AM

    Looks like you're facing the music since the post..... and......all... Good luck TB. Just remember..... for a number of the younger generations you ARE what you SAY you are.

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    1. Well played sir, well played.

      At least for me - to quote Benjamin Franklin - I need to be really what I seem to be. In this case, it means doing a little (or a lot of ) interior work.

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  2. I'm not sure if you are like me in this, but I'll wager there has been some loss of "energy" over the past two years as you have wrestled with that VERY concept yourself: ...which should indicate what you really want".

    I would bet there has been consternation, heartburn, or regular preoccupation with the idea of what do I really want.

    I went through that as well, and I'm not happy with the choices I made. So much was happening then, I didn't have the depth to address everything at once. When my radio days were done, I did the steer in the snowstorm. I was probably in the top 5% of steers, but I wasn't meant for that kind of position. I excelled at it, but that didn't scratch my skill set very deep.

    God directs in very strange ways at times. And in my experience, little flags like this resume' issue would perk up my ears. Be ready if He calls on you to move quickly, but don't keep you eyes up so long you neglect where you are.

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    1. STxAR, you are indeed correct. There has indeed been a loss of energy and direction. I seem to have less drive to do most things than I used to. There was a lot of damage done post reassignment that I have still not worked my way through. Re-reading that review from two years ago - if a random person read it without context, likely they would not recommend hiring me for anything.

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  3. I never did find that out for myself. I got buffetted and tossed by the storms and smashed on the rocks a couple times. Like anybody else, I suppose. I never had any control over events, and just muddled through and hoped for the blizzards to end.

    I hope you do better than I did TB. You certainly have the intellect for it.

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    1. Glen, I do not really know that I will, honestly. Even if I can figure out what I want to be, the world has changed. I may not even have the opportunity to do so.

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  4. Per Scott Adams - you don't have to worry. Your success will make you passionate. Adams did a lot of things, what worked, he got passionate about. What didn't, he gradually cut out (like owning restaurants and the ill-fated, vegan, "Dilburrito".

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