Commitment to personal & professional development

There was once a time when I’d get frustrated about the lack of opportunities to travel for conferences or trainings. I used to think about “what could have been” if I had only continued my education and pursued an advanced degree. Frankly, I decided to make a personal choice to stop complaining about the opportunities I don’t have and start thinking about how I could develop my own professional development. I stopped depending on others to provide me these opportunities. I welcome them when they are offered, but I no longer wait for when those opportunities happen to come by.

As I found out, the process of identifying areas I’d like to learn and how I’d go about them was a fun process in itself. It made me think about my future career path and finding creative ways to learn the skills and acquire the experiences necessary to get to where I’d like to go. In some ways, I have some ideas on where I’d like to be, but at the same time, I am open to the possibility that there just might be some careers out there for me that have yet to be invented. When I made the decision to stop complaining and comparing my professional development (or lack of) with others, I made the choice and commitment to be accountable for my professional development and in general, the future of my career. It’s too easy to blame others for lack of opportunities, but it’s very liberating to know that I have control over my career.