It’s a strange coincidence that several of my women friends, at this moment, seem to be struggling with one of the two questions:
- whether to quit their dead end/ stressful jobs and start a venture of their own, which might be more self fulfilling or,
- look for a part time option which gives them more flexibility and at the same time fulfills their professional aspirations
Mind you, these are no ordinary women. They are all very bright, well qualified and accomplished women in their respective fields with a good 15+ years of work experience, holding middle to senior management positions.
Perhaps, it’s no coincidence at all. I quite identify with these women. I too have been at the same juncture in life. After I had a kid, I found myself compromising on my career. I tried to balance work and family and ended up taking assignments, which were not challenging and not using my abilities to the maximum. This can be very frustrating for women who are career oriented, want to accomplish something and also want satisfying personal lives.
There is no standard solution to this problem. When two people are put in an identical situation, they will each come up with a different solution. Each of us has to evaluate our situation and come up with a unique answer for ourselves.
The first step in this direction is to identify long term goals in both our professional and personal lives. Visualizing where we want to be in the next 10-15 years is a good way to understand our inner aspirations and desires. The next step is to fully understand what needs to be done to reach that goal. Last and not least, we need to act on what needs to be done now to reach there.
This is easier said than done. However, its certainly achievable if we are able to create a clear picture of the future in our mind and follow it up with proper planning and diligent implementation. There are several successful women who have achieved professional success while leading enriched, happy and healthy personal lives. So ladies, its only your own imagination that is stopping you from realizing your full potential and living your dreams…..