Nurture your career with
lessons from gardeners
Early in my career as a lawyer and corporate exec, I thought I could do it all. I worked long hours at the office or on the road. And often in my free time I worked in the garden. The opportunities seemed vast, and I hustled after them.
But then I noticed I had a perfect setting for a great life, but was working too hard to enjoy that life. Too often work consumed most of my time. And the garden started to feel like one more responsibility that was just a little too big.
So I decided to try another approach. I took early retirement from my “big” job then began creating a career as an executive and transitions coach. I was determined to shape a work life that was engaging yet not overwhelming. At first I directed most of my new-found free time to the garden. But soon my landscaping plans grew to big for my energy and my resources. And once again I learned that too much of a good thing can be, well… just too much.
It’s taken a while, but now I feel like I have a nice balance in my career, in my garden, in my life. My garden adventures have taught me some things about creating boundaries yet going with the flow.
This week I shared some of my career lessons from the garden on the PBS website NextAvenue.org I hope you enjoy my article!
