I recently read a very interesting article, Planned Happenstance: Constructing Unexpected Career Opportunities, by Mitchell, Levin and Krumboltz published in the Journal of Counselling and Development (1999). The article is about the role that chance plays in our careers.
We often underestimate the role that chance plays in shaping our careers. In fact, chance might be one of the major contributing factors that shape our careers. If you think back over your life, how many times have you been at the right place at the right time? How many times have a chance meeting with someone lead to an opportunity? How many times did you randomly read something that stimulated a certain thought that shaped your future?
Chance, without a doubt, plays a pivotal role in our careers. However, what we miss is that “the events that we attribute to chance are often indirect outcomes of effective behaviour” (Mitchell, Levin & Krumboltz, 1999).
The modern career is complex and a rigid, rational and linear approach to your career is not the best approach anymore. The future is unpredictable and uncertain, in other words, things very often do not work out as we would like it to work out. As Gelatt puts it in his article, Positive Uncertainty: A new Decision-Making Framework for Counselling, published in the Journal of Counselling Psychology (1989): “Today the past is not always what it was thought to be, the future is no longer predictable, and the present is changing as never before.” Therefore, instead of trying to create structure and certainty in a world that is unpredictable and uncertain we need to “learn how to deal with change and ambiguity, accept uncertainty and inconsistency, and utilize the nonrational and intuitive side of thinking and choosing” (Gelatt, 1989).
Mitchell, Levin and Krumboltz (1999) propose the development of the following five skills to assist us in recognising, creating and using chance as career opportunities:
Curiosity: exploring new learning opportunities;
Persistence: exerting effort despite setbacks
Flexibility: changing attitudes and circumstances
Optimism: viewing new opportunities as possible and attainable
Risk Taking: taking action in the face of uncertain outcomes
When we are more uncertain and flexible about our goals, adopt a more curios and optimistic attitude, with a willingness to take some risks along the way, while persevering in pursuing opportunities, we can create more opportunities for chance events in our life. As Mitchell, Levin and Krumboltz (199) state: “Exploration generates chance opportunities for increasing quality of life and skills enable people to seize opportunities”. Both exploration and the development of skills is highly dependent on open-mindedness and a willingness to learn and grow.
The point that I am trying to make is that, sometimes, we are overly worried about the future and trying to make the future certain and predictable. This causes unnecessary worries and stress. Instead, we should embrace the opportunities to be found in the present, we should adopt a more positive approach to the uncertain, unpredictable future and we should explore the world with open-mindedness, non-rigidity and a willingness to step outside of our comfort zone.
Interestingly enough, the spectacles (i.e. your attitudes, beliefs, values, preferences, needs, wants etc.) that you have on, through which you look at and interpret the world around you, also shapes your reality. Maybe it is time for a change, time to try on a new pair of spectacles? Maybe the change of spectacles will create the chance opportunities that will allow you to be the person that you want to be, living the lifestyle that you want to live.
Johan de Goede, Industrial Psychologist