Liz Fosslien

Learning what doesn’t work or what you don’t want also helps you move closer to a fulfilling, personally meaningful situation. 💖

We often applaud grit, but it can be just as valuable to know when to quit.

If you’ve tried and tried and find that your work environment still makes you feel awful day in and day out, it might be time to move on.

And that’s okay. It doesn’t make you weak or ungrateful or someone who “couldn’t stand the heat.” Sacrificing your health and potentially your self-worth should not be the price you have to pay to participate.

A tip if you're looking for a new role: reflect on why you’re unhappy in your current job, and what you need to feel better in your next one. A clear sense of what matters most will make it easier for you to confidently identify your right next step.

#LIcreatoraccelerator

Every once in a while, and especially on days when I feel stuck or dejected, I take a moment to pause and think of everything I have now that my 10- or 20- or even 30-year old self would find cool. I usually come up with a decently long list, which helps me remember all the progress I've made.

I've also found this to be a useful way to check in with my core values: if I have a harder time coming up with something my younger selves would be excited about, it tends to be a sign I need to make a change or better take care of myself.

Feedback doesn’t always feel like a gift! \n\nWhile it can be painful to hear what you could do differently, you need to know what’s not working in order to learn and grow (and get promoted).\n\nThree tips I've found helpful when it comes to receiving feedback:\n\n✅ Use the words “what one thing” instead of the word “any.” If I ask “Do you have any feedback on how my presentation went?” the other person can easily default to saying no. If I instead say, “What one thing could I improve about my presentation?” I'm much more likely to get specific and actionable advice.\n\n✅ Keep a smile file. I save praise and nice comments to a folder that I revisit when I get a piece of negative feedback. This helps me remember that there are many things I do well, and that it’s ok if I need to work a bit harder in one area.\n\n✅ Write down feedback and come back to it later. In the moment, it's easy to get defensive or try to rationalize constructive criticism away. Coming back to my notes when I’m not as emotional helps me see the value in the advice I’ve received.\n\n(Important note: Feedback can absolutely be biased, inaccurate, and unfair. If it seems seriously flawed or wrong, you are allowed to toss it out.)

We tend to measure our level of success by our job title and salary.

But the magic moments you’ll look back on and be most proud of later in life usually have very little to do with either.

My favorite magic moment story comes from Maurice Sendak, who wrote and illustrated the book Where the Wild Things Are. Once Sendak received a letter with a charming little drawing on it from a boy named Jim.

In return, Sendak drew a Wild Thing on a card and sent it to the boy. A few weeks later, he received a letter from Jim’s mother that said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” “That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received,” Sendak recalled. “He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

So when you evaluate where you are or where you’re headed, make sure that you’re not just thinking of titles and salaries. How you spend your time, whether or not you like what you’re doing, your health, if you’re creating something that a little kid might one day love so much that they eat it, those are better measures of success.

(Repost, but an eternally useful reminder ☺️)