What’s This All For?

This weekend I finished Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes. While it took me a while to get used to the writing style, I enjoyed reading about her journey — full of courage and personal growth. It made me reflect on my own personal growth over the past few years and how far I’ve come. But more so, I’m reminded of my desire to be intentional about where I’m headed on the next leg of my journey.

The first few months after graduation I jumped into a new career in a sector that’s quite foreign to me and focused all of my energy on staying afloat despite the constant anxiety I was feeling about being enough. Good enough, experienced enough, smart enough. It’s baggage I bring with me to every new space I enter, a load that never becomes manageable until I once again realize that everyone else is also figuring it out as they go.

Now that I’ve finally taken a deep breath, I’m left wondering: What’s this all for?

I decided to pursue my MBA with the goal of developing my leadership skills, transitioning back into Corporate America, and ultimately contributing to the slow but steady momentum I see underway toward more conscious capitalism. In choosing my career path post-grad school, I decided that my most immediate objective would be to sharpen my business acumen and take advantage of opportunities to stretch myself as much as possible.

But then what? What’s it all for?

It’s no question that my goal is to be an executive and eventually a CEO, but my career ultimately has to be about more than promotions along the way if it’s going to matter — both for me and for the communities I hope to impact.

I don’t have the answers yet, but thankfully this weekend I’ll be taking off on a 3 day retreat where I look forward to reflecting on all of this. My goal is to walk into 2016 with both ambition and purpose, so that I don’t lose sight of my intentions during the highs and lows of my journey throughout the year.

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