By Mary Ann Faremouth, CPC
At the writing of this article, the autumn equinox is upon us. It’s a time to honor the harvest — whether things planted in your backyard garden or important things you set out to achieve at the beginning of the year, it truly is a time of deep reflection.
When I was young, I would watch my grandparents examine and till the soil of their backyard garden every year to make sure what they planted would yield good results. There are so many lessons I gleaned from them as a little girl, and I am grateful I lived next door to benefit from their deep wisdom.
As we move into the harvesting season, what can you do to make sure you yield your best self on your personal and professional journeys? The ground in which you have planted your own seeds for years may not appear to be the same; it may contain some unusual ingredients that have to be examined, possibly even removed. As Chloë Rain, the founder of Explore Deeply, suggests, “We are the only true experts on our journey to enlightenment. Filter all information through your own heart.”
Circumstances of the past few years don’t have to deter you from reaping the harvest you hope you’ve nurtured. Now more than ever, if you want your results to be prosperous, get your soil ready for not just any seeds but the right seeds. When you decide what you want to accomplish and make a determined effort to make it happen, the results can be astonishing.
Let’s look at ways you can cultivate the soil of your life so that you can harvest a garden of opportunity:
1. Prepare the soil.
No farmer would ever try to plant crops in soil that is not healthy and tilled properly. It must be filled with nutrient-rich ingredients for anything to take root and grow well. The same applies to your personal and professional harvest. The first layer of soil you must tend is your mindset. If you hold a negative mindset — such as remaining discouraged at what might have happened in your life — and you voice that negativity to your family, peers, or prospective employers, nothing healthy will grow. Till your soil to remove the damaging patterns of thinking and action and leave the soil fertile. By shaping your mindset into a positive, unshakable inner dialogue that doesn’t allow the past to hinder your pursuits, you will be ready to receive new seeds that will yield a bountiful harvest of opportunity and expansive growth in your career.
2. Plant according to the harvest that is available.
All farmers must decide what bountiful crops they want to harvest. Before you start planting seeds in the gardens of the New Work World, ask yourself what type of harvest you want to reap. If the garden you have been in for the past 20 years is no longer fertile, do you need assistance with presenting your skill set for a new garden, demonstrating transferable skills to a prospective employer? Do you need to plant new ideas by taking online classes that will make you more valuable? If you feel your personal affiliations and network could be expanded, would joining groups like Toastmasters, Rotary, or Meetup groups be a good step? What about taking a dance class to meet fun people and get some exercise in the process?
3. Sow a variety of crops.
The farmer can never really be certain of the seeds he sows. The same holds true for the seeds you sow for your personal and professional journeys. But you have to plant those seeds before anything can manifest! Consider planting your seeds in a variety of ways to give yourself better odds of a bounty in many venues. For example, you might work with a career consultant or coach, apply for jobs through online job boards, join networking groups, and contact previous bosses or colleagues to investigate options or positions that might be available. It might also be wise to sow your career seeds across a variety of industries. In other words, mix it up a bit and consider things you may have previously ignored to give you the chance at a brand-new experience.
4. Be grateful for the current season.
Every season has its advantages for the farmer’s bountiful harvest, but certain seasons are better for planting particular seeds. For example, fall is the best time of year to plant cold-season vegetables, as well as many trees, shrubs, and perennials. The same can be said of careers and personal lives. The first of the year has traditionally been known for new beginnings, personal goals we want to achieve, fresh hiring budgets, and planning strategies for expansive growth of companies. However, if you were given a layoff notice in early summer, maybe the season you are currently in calls for a long-needed vacation so you can get away from the situation, take a break, and re-evaluate your strategy or plan.
As you reflect on this current harvest season, assess where you are and where you want to go, be grateful for all the lessons learned, the people you have met along the way, and how your experiences — good or bad — have prepared you for a more exciting journey ahead. Having a sense of gratitude for the experience and building your mindset around that gratitude will allow you to manifest a greater harvest in your career as well as in the garden of life.
Let your best harvest for the New Work World and beyond be determined by your attitude, not by your current circumstances. Prepare the soil of your mindset for the seeds you will plant to make sure they yield bountiful opportunities for a growth-oriented life. Our work and personal worlds are connected: When we are happy in our careers, we bring those good feelings to our family and friends. Let this year’s autumn equinox be a time for deep reflection for you to be able to manifest new growth to become your best self in the New Work World and beyond!
Mary Ann Faremouth
Mary Ann holds a CPC (Certified Personnel Consultant) credential, was certified by the Board of Regents of the National Association of Personnel Consultants in Washington, D.C., and was awarded an Advanced Communicator Bronze, Advanced Leader Bronze Awards by Toastmasters. She cofounded Jobs: Houston magazine in 1997. Mary Ann maintains affiliations with professional organizations, including oil and gas, financial, construction, IT, and structural, mechanical, and civil engineering. (www.faremouth.com)
Mary Ann’s award-winning first book Revolutionary Recruiting has been listed by Book Authority as Number #1 Best 100 Recruiting Books; #1 Best Seller, Non-Fiction, Amazon (2019); Top 20 Recruiting books, Recruitics; Readers’ Choice finalist (2019), Houston Literary Awards; Best Non-Fiction (2018), Best Cover (2019), and Best Self-Help (2018), Authors Marketing Guild. Her books support individuals and corporations, tap into each candidate’s unrealized potential to find the right person for each job, maximizing both employee satisfaction and the employer’s bottom line. Mary Ann showcases her expertise of the recruiting world on a monthly podcast for The Price of Business and weekly articles for USA Business. Her new workbook, Revolutionary Reinvention, was recently released on Amazon. Mary Ann lives in Houston, Texas.
Check out more lifestyle stories here.
