The tussle between my ‘Tortoise’ and my ‘Hare.’

Being random might be my superpower.

I am a quirky, random black woman, who can at times like a butterfly flit between projects and interests, in an instant. And then at other times, ponder overlong and drag my feet, when speed and decisiveness are needed.

I first wrote about the tussle between my tortoise and my hare, four years ago and today I find I’m at yet another place in my working life. My work is in flux, evolving as I seek to mix things up a bit and create the space where my coaching, writing and work in the charity sector can coexist. A small part of me would like someone to come along and sprinkle a little fairy dust over my endeavours😉.

There are now three significant parts to my working life, coaching, writing, and working in the Charity sector. After twenty or so years of being solely self-employed, I realised that I was tired of working predominantly on my own. I wanted to be part of a team, doing something meaningful, and that is what I was lucky enough to find, a role supporting vulnerable young women. Flexible work that gives me real satisfaction.

Of the three activities, my writing pays the least, but I am determined to plug on with it because despite this if I don’t try, I’ll never know what I might have accomplished with it. And two because I just might, get lucky and end up with a story or two on NetFlix. A bit more fairy dust here would be helpful, too. Writing is the activity I love and enjoy the most, and it is the one question that I don’t want to leave unanswered.

Coaching is no longer; the only thing I want to pursue. It’s time to accept the inevitable; most people calling themselves coaches have different income streams. If I want to write, my coaching practice will have to evolve, if it’s to deliver what I need.

So, why a tortoise and hare? Well, most of you are probably familiar with the story of the tortoise and the hare and how in the end, the hare loses the race through pride. This metaphor beautifully demonstrates the two ways in which I have approached some of my career choices. At times I have been strongly led by my ‘hare’ at others very much by my ‘tortoise’, which has resulted in some seemingly random, seemingly unrelated, seemingly illogical choices.

So before going much further, I’d better introduce these two characters:

My ‘Hare’- let’s call her Gloria, leaps enthusiastically from project to project. She’s gung-ho, makes her decisions, quickly and doesn’t hang around. Gloria’s the reason I ended up on a couple of Stand-Up comedy courses and a two-year life-writing course. Both decisions to attend made within minutes of discovering their existence.

Gloria doesn’t always take the time needed to consider the consequences of each move. Or indeed to recognise repeating patterns of behaviour. She hates feeling stuck and given a choice will almost always choose action and motion over anything else.

Gloria is also a bit of a collector, gathering ideas from lots of different places, but not always sifting through the details. In the age of Google, it is too easy to collect information, which is not necessarily accurate, truthful, or fully evidenced.

Gloria is full of ideas and wants lots of action, energy and fresh perspectives.

On the other hand, Wilma, my tortoise, is generally more focused and deliberate.

She wants to keep me safe, comfortable and secure. Not always a bad thing. Wilma has I’m sure kept me out of trouble as much as she’s prevented me from ‘grabbing’ at some great opportunities.

Wilma wants to explore all options carefully, while Gloria is ‘chomping’ at the bit to get things sorted.

In writing this, I recognise I am more naturally predisposed towards Gloria and so need to consciously balance her with my Wilma when faced with significant decisions, career or otherwise. I sometimes need to deliberately ‘slow myself down.’ Others might need to ‘speed themselves up.’

The trick is to recognise which one you are naturally predisposed towards and keep it in balance.

Balancing the two sides allows you to utilise the strengths from each so that whatever decision or choice you make, it is both considered and timely.

So, there you have it until next time.

Please feel free to share or comment.

Janice Taylor

Blue Sky Career Consulting

www.blueskycareerconsulting.co.uk

I first published this article on my careerresilience blog.