Cat Litter For Your Career

Growing up and coming of age in both Western New York & Southern Ontario, particularly living in the country, you tend to learn a thing or two about driving in tough road conditions. Between the mud caused by excessive rain, deep snow and treacherous icy spots, figuring out the quickest and safest way to “keep moving” becomes a natural occurrence, it happens so often.  If I hadn’t learned a few tricks to navigate these inclement conditions, I would probably have either never left home from December to April, or would inevitable still be stuck somewhere, wheels spinning and never moving forward.

One of the tricks I learned however, is that cat litter is an incredible, practical resource to help a vehicle get moving again, particularly when the conditions get rough.  Yes…good old fashioned clay cat litter, and keeping a bucket or bag in the trunk of your car is always a good idea in the Northern climes.  Throwing a few scoops under spinning tires seemingly going nowhere, will create traction and miraculously help you get “unstuck”.  I can tell you first-hand that this trick really does work!

So how can cat litter help with careers? Well, we’ve all perhaps been there at one time or another…stuck.  Stuck in either a dead-end position, perhaps not making the salary we deserve, or worse yet, unfulfilled by the work we do.  Maybe we just don’t relate to our co-workers, have a supervisor who has no desire to see other potential in us, or maybe our current general working environment is just plain awful.  Hey, it unfortunately happens, but keeping a resource handy that’s akin to cat litter, can get your career moving forward again!

During a particular time in my career when I was contemplating other possibilities, I found myself “still” contemplating options a few years later.  Yes, that’s right…a few years later.  I was completely stuck and absorbed in contemplation mode, couldn’t seem to make a move and was “spinning my wheels”, so to speak.  Then, I decided to throw down some career cat litter!  It came in the form of a part-time job that had absolutely nothing to do with my current career.  Nothing…nada…zip.  I decided to spend some time doing something completely different and well out of my comfort zone,  and I became a catering assistant for a gourmet chef.

I’ll say this about my gourmet catering gig. It was hands down one of the hardest, yet most fun work I had ever done.  I met new people, learned new things and came home both completely exhausted and completely exhilarated.  I never once had a desire to completely abandon my current career for one in catering, but a wonderful thing occurred.  I started to think in new ways.  I gained a new sense of confidence achieved from learning something new and doing something completely different, and was finally ready to to move ahead.  So, I made some concrete plans and six months later, changed positions for my day job, took a leap of action, and moved my career forward.  I had finally become “unstuck” after years of contemplation.

So, if you feel stagnant in your current position or career, go ahead and throw down some career cat litter! Maybe it’s a part-time job,  extra per diem work, or a volunteer position.  Perhaps it’s related to your career, or perhaps it’s not. Take a class, try a new hobby, start a blog, join a new group, or perhaps freelance your talents.  Your own career cat litter may be just what you need to help you gain some traction, stop spinning your wheels, get “unstuck” and move forward!

by Christine Demcie