What Buffaloes Can Teach You About Career Challenges

When buffaloes see a storm coming, they charge directly into the storm.  They continue into the storm’s path as the storm approaches the herd.  Of course, at some point, they get wet as the storm passes but since the herd is going in the opposite direction, they get rained upon as little as possible.

When cows see a storm coming, they wait for the storm to reach them. They then run in the direction that the storm is going, thinking erroneously that they can outrun the storm.  They get rained upon for the maximum amount of time. Most people act like cows.
My career counseling clients usually come to see me long after they have seen a career storm coming from a distance.  They know they are in a mismatched career or company or job.  When the storm hits, whether it is a bad performance review or company downsizing or anxiety/depression from work, most were not surprised.  They had been a little bit unhappy, then gradually unhappier, and then finally under the storm of whatever problem they now had.  They are now in the storm.  Unlike the passing storm that cows face, career storms don’t simply pass.

When my career counseling clients see me prior to the storm hitting them, they are embracing their inner buffalo. They have decided to do something about the challenge.  They face it head on.  Do they go through some challenges?  Yes.  But they wind up on the other side of the storm far faster and into that beautiful sunlight that emerges after a big storm.