It’s 2026, and I have no concrete career goals.

I do have three objectives

  • I want to realize my potential
  • I want something different
  • I need to change my environment.

I am at a point in my life where I want to realize my potential. I am ready to bet on myself.  I have developed a life philosophy of “don’t settle for the short stick.” I want to see what happens when I push and challenge myself to reach my full potential instead of just settling for what’s comfortable or easy.

I called the summer of 2025, the summer of the doldrums. Every single day felt the same. Gray, overcast weather, a low-energy, dull work environment, and a lack of peer interaction. I knew that I was ready for something different.

By the Fall of 2025, something had to change because I could not spend another year, let alone another six months, going through the motions. I have been doing the same work for twenty years, and I am ready for new challenges.

My environment has been a major issue. I have experienced a lack of stimulation, social connection, and interaction in both my professional and personal lives. This is why I have spent the first weeks of 2026 reconnecting with people that I deeply respect, admire, and enjoy. Just this shift has done wonders for me. I call this group my starting lineup, and all of them align with my values, energize me, and inspire me to do more. My energy levels are way up, and so is my creativity.

Collaborative energy and intellectual stimulation are at the very top of my wish list for whatever comes next.

The truth is, I don’t yet know what that next chapter looks like. I can’t label it. I don’t have a defined goa

I spent the second half of 2024 grieving the unexpected loss of my mother, and I spent 2025 adjusting to life without her physical presence and also shedding identities, people, and groups that I needed to move on from.  This was not the right time to start setting goals because I had too much to process.

Not having a specific target has given me space to gain clarity about what I’m interested in and what I want the next chapter of my career to look like. I know my next chapter involves communication and collaborating with a team to accomplish objectives.

I have concepts of goals. I am a communicator, but I need to put in the work of deliberate practice to improve as both a speaker and writer. I am taking writing and editing classes through the University of California extension programs and writing articles for my blog for my own enjoyment and to build a writing habit.

We’re taught that we must always have goals and specific targets to hit, but what happens when we’ve accomplished our big goals and are asking, “What’s next?”

Should we just set arbitrary goals so we don’t feel like we’re spinning our wheels? What happens when family or personal issues take precedence over the next career milestone?

Sometimes we need to stop, take a moment to savor our accomplishments, and then move forward to the next chapter.  There are also times when we just don’t know what’s next, and that’s also fine.

Not having concrete career goals is not a bad thing. It is better to pause and move forward with intention rather than rush ahead and settle for the short stick. This pause may be just the catalyst to reignite the spark for what’s ahead.