Plot twist: no one is coming

I’ve been working my way through Dr. Nathaniel Branden’s The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem. It’s a well-known tome among therapists and counsellors, but down-to-earth enough for the average person. I highly recommended if you feel your own self-esteem shaking in its boots.

One tiny section in particular caught my eye, because I so often find that career goals hover more in dreamland than they do in the real world. Let me explain.

Hollywood has trained us very well to look for the rom-com world. Wish upon a star and miracles happen. Be true of heart and your fairy godmother shows up in time to get you to the ball. The talent scout’s car breaks down outside the auditorium at exactly the right time to see our dance performance. We land the big account and our boss gives us the dream promotion we never dared to ask for. Cut. Print. Roll credits.

Enter Dr. Branden. At the end of his chapter on “The Practice of Self-Responsibility,” he writes the four magic words no fairy godmother would ever know: no one is coming.

If we’re just waiting to be in the right place at the right time, then we’re all spending our days looking for that time and place. And spending no time setting goals and working out the steps to take to achieve them. In reality, no one is coming to hand us our dreams.

What does this mean for you, as a job seeker, an employee or a parent? Join me in this week’s career tip video for a closer look.

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