A Shapeless Peg in a Round Hole
You know the old adage about trying to put a square peg in a round hole. But most of us are trying to do something even more frustrating: trying to make a peg fit a hole when we’re not sure of the the shape of either.
Imagine a bag full of pegs of nearly the same size but of very different and unusual shapes. You also are given a board with holes, each corresponding to a unique peg. In addition, you’re blindfolded and have to wear thick gloves. As you pick out each peg and try it on each hole in turn, trying all possible angles, you soon learn that it’s mostly about luck.
And that’s the way most of us approach our careers, randomly trying this, then that, then something else, hoping to get lucky and find out what we’re really successful at. Some of us do get lucky and fall into some niche that really suits our giftings, but more of us spend our working lives moving from practice area to practice area, employer to employer, and even from career to career, always chasing the rainbow, but never finding it, because we’re never quite sure what it is we’re looking for.
Trying to pursue a career without a clear understanding of your unique giftings is like the game described above, occasionally lucky, but mostly just putting in time until you get to a merciful retirement. Is there a sadder waste of precious talent than toiling away for thirty-five years chained to a job you can barely tolerate?
Want to know where to start? Think about the peg game with the gloves and the blindfold. Now suppose you have a coach, a mentor, or even a few friends who can come alongside and guide you. Need I say more?