"The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday - but never jam to-day." "It MUST come sometimes to 'jam to-day,'" Alice objected. "No, it can't," said the Queen. "It's jam every OTHER day: to-day isn't any OTHER day, you know." If the wonderfully wacky world of Lewis Carroll's White Queen held sway, we would never have to make up our minds about what we want to do with the rest of our lives. It would never actually be "to-day." Does that sound tempting? For New Radicals-in-the-making, it can be. (New Radicals are people who've discovered how to put skills acquired in their careers to work on some of the world's greatest challenges; for more, see archived posts.) We've spent time imagining a new and deeply meaningful career for ourselves. One that will make a real difference. It's been thrilling to wander around with our heads full of possibilities, delicious when all the doors are still wide open. At the same time, this stage can be distressing. With so many choices before us and so much uncertainty, some people report feeling anxious and lost. "What will I do? What will I do?" Many of my clients talk about how the stakes are much higher at midlife -- they feel that this is their last chance, or they're reluctant to let go of what's familiar (no matter how unhappy they've been). And pretty much everyone talks about a fear of failure. Happily, "to-day" does eventually arrive. People do make decisions. They put one foot in front of th ...
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