Overcome Your Fears to Unlock Your Potential
By: Angie Temming, MLT Career Prep Senior Coach
In honor of Halloween, I ask you to consider your biggest fears. Think beyond spiders or skydiving or public speaking. Instead, focus on fears that hold you back from achieving your true potential. As a coach who has walked the walk with a number of students, I have learned that few are lucky enough to pinpoint their life’s calling before, or even during, college. Most figure out what they want to do, what they are truly meant to do, by trial and error. In fact, what I have to found to be key in the pursuit of finding one’s ideal career is the willingness to try new things, take on new challenges and explore the unknown, along with an ability to learn something of value in each and every experience. So, what fears will you overcome to unlock your potential?
Academics. Select a major or take classes to develop competencies valued in industries or roles that interest you. In addition to obvious subjects, consider honing your presentation, language and technology skills. If a particular course or major is not offered on your campus or you are concerned about your GPA, start with a free online course provided by Coursera or another source.
Leadership. Seek out campus and community endeavors that align your professional and personal interests and will provide you with opportunities to grow, connect and conquer challenges. In addition to seeking out leadership roles within existing organizations, consider stepping up to spearhead an initiative or even establish an organization to enhance your skills as well as benefit your peers.
Experience. So you think you may want to be a consultant or brand manager or technology developer, yet you lack any relevant experience. Big dreams excite everyone, not knowing where to start could scare anyone. So engage, participate, get involved. Consider case competitions, professional development conferences, employer site visits, networking receptions, project-based courses, campus employment, volunteer opportunities and externships to leverage your competitive advantage to land the internship of your dreams.
Realize you are just as likely to learn from your failures as your successes and no challenge is insurmountable once you break it into a series of small steps. So, continue to move forward, embrace new experiences, learn from the occasional setback and know you have the power to unlock your potential for greatness.