Spiral Careers.

I have just finished reading a deeply enjoyable book: From Strength to Strength by Arthur C Brooks. I take forever to read books, and I prefer physical copies. The smell of paper has a kanice high, plus, I highlight much of what I read. Sometimes I even add comments to the pages as if I’m helping the author complete the ideas he left out, hehe. Plagiarism is stealing someone’s work and claiming it as one’s own. Is the opposite simply adding to the writer’s work? If it’s an offence, then I am guilty, hehe.

In the last chapter of his book, ‘Casting into the falling tide,’ Brooks confirms that advice and storytelling can only take us so far; we must make the jump ourselves if we are to land in a second half of life that is both enjoyable and meaningful. He introduces the idea of spiral careers, which I transitioned into thanks to the Halftime program. I discovered I am a ‘portfolio person’: someone with multiple interests and occupations that blend to create a whole picture. I compare it to having children who get along, hehe. My ‘kids’ are coaching, nature photography, board work, and storytelling.

In the first half of life, we often focus on a single, long-term career by default. In the second half, we shift toward an assortment of interests with less rigid structure. Brooks shares some lessons to help us jump into a life of significance in our second half; so, come into class, fellow midlife folks, and pay attention. Three of those lessons resonated with me, as I have experienced each of them to some degree on my own journey. Read on and thank me later, hehe.

The first lesson is that the work you do must be the reward. Brooks says that the instrumentalisation of work leads to unhappiness. Most of us have treated work as a means to an end, particularly in the first half of our lives. We get a job or start a business and push as hard as we can to pay the bills. Nothing wrong with that, especially because bills have no halftime; they keep coming fast and furious. The problem with this approach is that once we receive a payoff from a job, we immediately start seeking the next one. We never really arrive; instead, we run harder in the rat race and end up worn out and disillusioned. The second half of life is not for rats, folks.

We can be forgiven for living this way in our twenties to forties, or even into our early fifties. But once we get to halftime, and it starts getting harder to ignore the unhappiness, we have to address it. Brooks tells us that ‘with the right goals—earning your success and serving others—you can make the rest of your career itself your reward.’ This blog (and my storytelling) represents that for me. The fact that readers come here and find something to help them along is my reward; I feel really good about it, so please keep the comment section active, good people, hehe.

The second lesson is to do the most interesting thing you can. He contrasts the different types of speeches we hear at graduation ceremonies. Some speakers tell the graduates to go and find their purpose. I wish they would follow that by showing them how to locate it. The second kind of speech promises that if you find work you love, you will never have to work a day in your life. I wish the commencement speech at my graduation had been the latter. Maybe my classmates and I would have been further ahead in life, hehe.

The best work in the second half of our lives should be both meaningful and enjoyable. I enjoy my photography immensely, and try to use it to promote magical Kenya and conservation. The coaching I provide uses my gift of speaking, and I want to believe I help individuals progress through life. ‘Is this work deeply interesting to me?’ Brooks suggests we use that question as a litmus test to confirm if an opportunity suits us.

The third lesson is that a career change doesn’t have to be a straight line. We have linear careers that are steady and rise from one accomplishment to another. Most of our parents had such jobs. My dad was a career banker until his retirement. So was his older brother, who has a long-service certificate for thirty-six years hanging on his sitting room wall. Imagine that. Spiral careers, according to Brooks, are like ‘a series of mini careers. You spend many years developing in a profession, then shift fields seeking not just novelty but work that builds on the skills of your previous mini-careers.

In the second half of life, a spiral career is more appropriate. It is more flexible, as you are in control of your time and have earned the right to decide what to engage in. Spiral careers, in my view, also allow us to multitask beautifully—having multiple interests running simultaneously and complementing each other. For instance, I use my photography to enrich my storytelling, whether I am enhancing articles on this blog or preparing slide decks for my training. I love it.

Another thing that makes spiral careers so ideal when we are older is the issue of image. We become more interested in how we see ourselves than in how others see us. In the second half of life, image is overrated. That’s true freedom, if you ask me. Sadly, though, there are folks in midlife still trapped in the image thing, working hard to appear a certain way to the masses. That’s miserable.

If you are in that jela, I encourage you to be kind to the person who really matters: you. Ignore others’ opinions; some of them are not even real. They could just be in our minds. Prioritise yourself and what you want to explore. It might feel awkward at first, but once you start test-driving those passions and interests you’ve kept hidden, you will be amazed at how you feel and how many people you will help. You won’t have to wait for the end of the month for your reward; the work you do will be the reward.

Thanks for rewarding me this week by reading this story, folks. I never imagined I’d be a writer, yet here we are, almost ten years later. I hope this prompts someone out there to start telling their story, too.