My graduation from Missouri State. Photo by Sally Sheahan | 2011.

Life is pretty predictable up to a certain point. We start pre-school, then elementary school, junior high... until we graduate high school and come to our first crossroad. Do we go to a university or community college? Do we skip the college scene altogether and go straight into the workforce? Up to this point, there is a clear understanding of expectations for what we need to learn and how we should learn it. We study, we memorize, we read, we listen, we write. But what happens after school? What happens when the path is no longer paved for us? How can we continue to challenge ourselves as we grow in our careers?

I have been on teams with people who are constantly challenging the status quo. They are always looking for new ways to be inspired and new ways to grow. While others on the team have become apathetic (showing no interest, enthusiasm, or concern for what they do). They have grown into passive habits that not only do not challenge themselves but do not challenge others. Here are some questions to ask yourself if you feel like you may have grown apathetic:

Are you asking questions? When people are not asking questions, challenging themselves and others, this is cause for concern; for one, they have stopped adding value to the conversation. They have decided to just go with the flow, they have decided to stop thinking, and are only concerned about executing what they are being told what to do. (Forbes)
Do you take shortcuts? Are you more focus on quantity over quality? Processes can be draining for anyone. Whether it is flipping burgers or selling a car most companies have set a specific way to do something to their standards. But are you thinking of a better way of looking for efficiencies or gaps in the current process rather than looking for a way to do it faster while losing the quality aspect?
What have you learned lately? Whether it is reading a book or trying out a duolingo app to learn a new language. The more you try to expand your mind the more successful you are going to be.
How are you inspiring yourself? As we grow and evolve in our careers we start to look for our leadership to inspire us. This is only setting ourselves up for failure... you see, we shouldn't be waiting for inspiration from someone else we should be creating our own inspiration. Eventually, you will start to inspire others! Some of my favorite inspiration places include: Dribbble, Muzli, Apartment Therapy, Kickstarter, Print, Toxel, Grain Edit, HiConsumption, Ted, and Pitchfork.

Growth can mean a lot of different things. Whether it means to learn a new skill or find a new path forward the main thing to remember with this rule of life is to keep moving. It doesn't matter if you are unsure about the direction you are moving as long as you are challenging yourself. The minute you become apathetic is the minute you have lost sight of time. Time does not stop moving and neither should you!

Thank you for taking the time to read some of my thoughts. This blog is a glimpse into the guidelines I live my life by. My Life Rules (pun intended)!