Stop limiting yourself to your past.

Sometimes people get stuck. We get complacent in our work lives, our home lives, our routines, and our relationships. We create our own limitations by what we have already done and are used to doing, especially when it comes to our work histories.

Resumes are supposed to show what a potential candidate could and should do, based on what they’ve done in the past. Everything seems to be based on what used to be, and not on what talent, desires, creativity, and hobbies reveal about a person.

We often talk about setting boundaries, and that we don't easily recognize our own. We seem to create boundaries only after something serious has happened, or we simply get old enough to understand what is acceptable for us. But, when it comes to looking for new work, the forbidden change, we have created such a box around what we think is necessary and right for us, that we find ourselves trapped in it!

We are so accustomed to following patterns that we forget to open our minds to new opportunities for work, relationships, and our well being. I certainly would not suggest that a bank robber should become a cop, or that a dentist should become an electrician, but I think people have become way too conditioned to live within the box of their resume. It seems that the most frequent phrase spoken by job seekers is "I used to", when they should be saying, "I love to, I could try, or I think I’d be good at". We also seem to believe that age is discriminated against. He is too young or she is too old is ridiculous. But what’s even worse, is when I hear from job applicants that they themselves think they are too old or too young for a certain job. There is that terrible box again, limitations created only by themselves.

Self esteem is a complex topic. We often limit ourselves before even opening up to the idea that anything is possible. We should look outside our past, the patterns we are stuck in, and the limiting beliefs we have put into our own brains. If we started writing resumes based on our futures, what we hope to accomplish based on what we love to do, what gives us energy, and what our talents are, perhaps we could rewrite our paths. Imagine, looking for a job or hiring someone based on having no limitations, just creativity, desire, and happiness. Perhaps we would not be so scared of change, if we could just stretch that box to dream of a future where we loved our jobs, our work, and our relationships.