Big Takeaway:

Being stuck is actually a great opportunity to really learn our true self and vision for the future. And it’s when we’re clear about who we are, our wants and needs, that we can take effective action to make our vision a reality.

 

Overview

This book, written by a psychologist and Harvard professor offers very specific steps and exercises to move from being stuck to having a clear career direction.

Dr. Butler uses real world examples from his students and clients to show us how we can embrace being stuck – what he calls ‘being at an impasse’ – and how to move forward out of that impasse.

Along with these examples, he provides about a dozen exercises for the reader to use as they explore their own patterns, interests, and vision.

A key element he recommends bringing to these exercises is “free attention.” I found this similar to meditation, allowing us to access our subconscious, our dreams and other imagery which informs our wants, needs and patterns.

To help us select a new direction, Dr. Butler offers a formula, a map as he calls it, as a guide, which includes getting clear about:

  1. deeply seated life interests
  2. social motivations (how are we motivated in our social interactions)
  3. working themes (what aspects of work are we drawn to such as technical, altruism, leadership, creativity, collaboration, etc.)
  4. dynamic tensions in our working themes

Dr. Butler provides exercises to help us uncover each of these areas as well as an exercise to map out these areas toward our next career path.

This book really helped me in my own career pivot, getting me unstuck and moving in a great direction. I hope it does the same for you!

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