Control Your Own Destiny Because No One Else Will

Is it really possible to have any control over your own career’s direction given all the variables affecting your professional choices? Your career is, for the most part, the sum of your own choices. We make choices and decisions every day that impact the future of our careers. But often there are also events outside of our own direct control that influence the choices we make.

In our youth, we probably considered the careers or professions of those close to us by evaluating their success and wealth. Our environment played an important role in forming our first ideas about careers and sest the wheels in motion as we began our journey on own career path. But even with all of the preparation in selecting a university or a study program, we weren’t necessarily sure we would make the right choices to lead us to the promised land of career happiness.

What often happens is that one’s career path includes the selection of traditional courses such as Business Administration, Economics, Accounting or Marketing, and is then influenced by many other factors, such as friends and teachers, internships, political and social environment, and economic trends. Given so many varied circumstances – outside of our own direct control – were we really directing our career “destiny” or just going along for the ride?

When you accepted a new job with “X” company, you made a choice that impacted your life's journey. When you joined a professional association, you made a choice. When you accepted a new assignment in your role, you made a choice. When you decided to play it safe, you made a choice. The present is the sum of our choices, driving us toward the future.

We have to give up the position that we are victims with little or no control over our future. There are events and circumstances that are out of our control, but we all have the ability to make wise choices. Your professional life belongs to you. Your future depends on you. Don’t yield control to external forces.