{"id":589,"date":"2020-02-22T17:28:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-22T22:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/?p=589"},"modified":"2020-02-24T07:27:42","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T12:27:42","slug":"assessing-your-professional-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/?p=589","title":{"rendered":"Assessing Your Professional Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Years ago a client asked me, \u201cHow will I know when I am SOMEBODY?\u201d It was such a well-phrased and poignant question.  It emanated from a place of pain and struggle for her.  It was clear she was not alone, as many of my clients expressed similar dilemmas.  In fact, it is just part of the human condition.  You want to know that you matter.  If you think about Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs, the theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow about human motivation, that quest is identified as Self-actualization.  If you are unfamiliar with Maslow\u2019s work, check this out: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs<\/a>.  It was such a compelling question that I created a workshop entitled \u201cKick Up Your Self-Esteem:  How Do You Know When You Are Somebody?\u201d ™ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My actual answer to my client\nwas, \u201cYou won\u2019t know if you are SOMEBODY unless you do two things: 1) Identify\nsuccess for yourself and 2) Pay rapt attention to your progress.  What does being a professional mean to\nyou?  Your definition of success will\nlikely change over time.  Your goal as\nyou entered the workforce will probably be quite different from your goal now\nif you have been in the workplace 5, 10, 20 plus years.  This is YOUR goal, not one that your boss or\nemployer identifies for you.  If you are\na business owner, it\u2019s not necessarily what your professional association or\nindustry considers successful.  This is\nall about YOU!  Plus, life is busy, your\ncareer is busy and you likely have made strides but they have gotten lost in\nthe busy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades I have done a process at the beginning of every year to reevaluate the age old question, \u201cWho am I?\u201d  This is a process that I recommend to all of my clients.  This is a pause, a time for self-assessment, for reflection.  I do not have a gambling bone in my body but I\u2019d still bet you will surprise yourself with this endeavor.  What you will be doing is writing, at the beginning of the year, a statement of who you are as a professional.  If you have never done this before it may seem daunting.  Take a deep breathe and relax, you will not be graded.  This is not about right or wrong.  You don\u2019t have to show it to a darned soul.  This is an opportunity for you to acknowledge, celebrate, revise, and revamp.  It\u2019s a great time to look at the gap.  Huh?  What gap?  Take an assessment of who you see yourself to be today and compare it to who you really want to be.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reinvention is possible!  I dedicate this article to my Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority Big Sister, Kathleen Clarkson Frey.  On February 20, 2020, after a brief stay in Hospice, she transitioned out of this life as we know it.  I watched Kathy reinvent herself as a young woman in an extraordinary way.  What a role model of possibility she was for me.  Can you reconfirm or reinvent yourself?  Yes you can!  Need more help?  Please read Kay\u2019s Corner for some action steps.  If you would like some professional guidance, please call me at 513-561-4288 or email me at Kay@highheeledsuccess.com<\/a>.  It just so happens, that\u2019s what I do for a living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago a client asked me, \u201cHow will I know when I am SOMEBODY?\u201d It was such a well-phrased and poignant question.  It emanated from a place of pain and struggle for her.  It was clear she was not alone, as many of my clients expressed similar dilemmas.  In fact, it is just part of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3,26,1,17],"tags":[82,10,80,6],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qkhe-9v","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":596,"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.highheeledsuccess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}