I start my first MBA class this week.
As I was looking at schools and programs and shared my plans with family, friends and coworkers, I fully expected the questions.
Why now? Why at this point in my career? Why at my age? Do I have enough time? Do I feel like I have to do it? Am I really going to get anything out of it? Am I ready for the commitment?
These are the same questions I asked myself as I toyed with the idea over the last few years, and the answers were probably what kept me from moving forward until now. There is never a good time, enough hours in the day, enough money, or guarantees of outcomes...and the 'have to' and 'need to' will make for some miserable years of degree pursuit. So my motivation had to come from somewhere else.
Over the last several years, there were three themes that resonated...and, in 2009, they became my motivation to throw my hat in the MBA ring.
THOUGHT ATROPHY - Time and time again, I have met people in both my personal and professional lives that suffer from this malady. It comes from being in a routine, developing a habit, avoiding conflict, settling for mediocrity, sidestepping change, and self protectionism. It's a state of security in your knowledge, and it's the place where creativity and constant questioning shuts down. I have seen lives slowly shrink and careers stagnate.
Part of my strategy for warding this off is to constantly take on new responsibilities, to learn new things, and to never trust my knowledge or my skill too much. As I head into my first class, it's in hopes of finding out that I know so much less than I even realized!
FEEL THE BURN - As a runner, I have found out that a comfortable pace wasn't going to make me stronger or faster. When I started to push myself beyond my where I thought I could go, I started to see the results.
Avoiding pain is human nature, but it's in those moments of discomfort, when you break down the muscles for them to heal stronger, that you experience growth. The next few years (trying to balance work and school and life) aren't going to be easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy, is it?
LEARNING BEGETS LEARNING - Once those synapses get firing, the possibilities are endless. People begin new careers in their 50s and 60s, take up a new sport, and show incredible capacity for change even after years in a rut. I have seen tenured staff come out of their shell and flourish. The more you learn, the more capacity you seem to have for learning.
It may take some stretching (and you'll feel the burn), but once you're warmed up, you might as well take advantage. In anticipation and excitement of my exploding synapses, I have also decided to learn Spanish and am eagerly venturing into new responsibilities at work.
Long winded answers to what I suspect were partly rhetorical questions. I'll keep you posted as I enter this new adventure.
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