Which ride would you be? You can tell a lot about a person by what they do in their leisure time. You might ask how this helps you in your career pursuits but just hold on to your teacups and let me explain. Exploring what motivates you personally may help you define what motivates you professionally. You might seek to balance your lifestyle in a way that supports you professionally. Meaning you may be on the go at work and desire a more leisurely sport, or you may have a more sedentary job and therefore go thrill seeking during your playtime.
Whatever floats your boat you may derive a lot when you reflect on what drives you while at play. So back to the Disney rides, I was at lunch with a colleague of mine and we began to discuss which rides we liked at Disneyland-not sure how we got on that topic but that’s not relevant. She was sure I loved the “Magic Mountain” ride because I tend to live on the fast track in most things I do professionally. I told her I actually like “The Pirates of the Caribbean” and believe it or not, “It’s A Small World.” She couldn’t believe it! I explained that it brought me back to my child-hood and a simpler, quieter time not that I wouldn’t mind an occasional spin on “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!” My colleague is very opposite from me in her work style. A true professional, she enjoys more analytic and contemplative pursuits so her favorite ride is “Magic Mountain.” My thought was that although I liked fast rides, I’m was uncomfortable not being able to what’s in front of my face- which actually says a lot about my personality and how I approach my professional life as well.
I concluded that there are many parallels to what excites, stimulates and moves us while we are not thinking about work, deadlines, bills and looking for a job. If you were to approach your work as you would your choices in Disneyland rides you would be drawn to what truly makes you feel stable and comfortable and what makes you happy. We all like to take some level of risk in our lives no matter what we do. Whether it’s choosing a water ride from a death-drop to a simple game of miniature golf, we all make choices on what will fill the need and what will motivate us at the same time. The same holds true when you are at work or are choosing one job offer from another. Maybe the next time you are out participating in leisure activities, whether it’s deciding on what ride to choose at Disneyland or, which movie you should see, think about what you are looking for at that moment and see whether you can draw any comparisons to how you make career choices when you are not thinking about paying the bills.
Keeping your career choices as simple and as close to your true personality will steer you on the right course professionally and personally.
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There is no “Magic Mountain” ride at Disneyland. There’s “The Matterhorn” and “Space Mountain”. The Matterhorn is fast while Space Mountain is fast and blind (the ride takes place in darkness with no view of the track).