Career Inklings from Columbia

Bloom Where You’re Planted

Janet M. Ruck

Got choices? Life’s circumstances are often the result of a series of choices that we make with varying levels and amounts of information. What profession to choose, who will be our life partner, whether we’ll have children or not…these are decisions we make at certain times of our lives. Who knows if we would have made the same choices at another time or place? But, regardless of the path we choose or the choice we make, what we do with the result is entirely up to us. We always have the ability to make the best of our situation.

When I was young and faced with an outcome that wasn’t quite to my liking, my grandmother would tell me to “make the best of it.” I did not always appreciate this advice because it felt to me like a cop-out, a waiving of my ability to control my own destiny. It seemed to me like I was allowing circumstances, rather than me, to determine my choices.



But, reality being what it is and being a grandmother now myself, I can appreciate my grandmother’s wisdom. There are a lot of versions of her advice, but the one that resonates most with me is the expression: “Bloom where you’re planted.”

In other words, we could learn how to make the most of where we are now. We could flourish and grow, achieve our goals, reach our potential. We really only have this moment – how are we going to spend it? It’s our choice whether to “make the best of it” or to squander it with regrets and laments. This is so true in our careers and our jobs. Not having all the information possible or necessary to make a fully informed choice, we can find ourselves in situations that are not always ideal. Micro-managing bosses, gossiping coworkers, oppressive work environments are certainly not ideal conditions. Often, our situations, the outcomes of our decisions may not be of our own choosing, but the manner in which we handle them truly is. But, it is truly up to us to figure out what we can do to maintain our positive attitude, our present moment. In other words, how can we make the best of it? (Thanks, Grandma!).

Got a minute? Think about what you can do today to uplift your spirits, honor your values and bloom where you are now. The choice is yours and yours alone.

Janet Ruck is as an escapee from the world of full-time work. As a career consultant and writer, she is consumed with helping people identify their passions, uniqueness, interests and talents to keep them from slipping into the faceless abyss of the workplace. Janet encourages herself and her clients through the use of journaling and creative self-expression as means of gaining perspective and insight into their authentic selves. She helps clients create and sustain satisfying careers by recognizing their own personal magic. Contact her at janetruck@yahoo.com.