Spending more time with yourself : Lauren’s secret recipe to success

When she was a kid, Lauren had a pretty set idea of her future : she would be a journalist on TV, and would never work a 9 to 5 office job for an international company. She is now a brilliant marketeer for Haleon. Feeling stuck in your career, unsure about your next step? You might want to keep on reading.

True to her childhood word, Lauren initially set out to become a journalist. During her last year of studies she applied for an internship during which she got the chance to learn about digital marketing. There, she faced her first career-defining dilemma: pursuing her dream, or starting it all over again from scratch in a whole new branch. Whether you find yourself in such position at 21 or after 20 years in your field, it takes a lot of guts to let yourself be vulnerable again in a new line of work. 

For Lauren, it was a given : digital marketing was her calling, and she didn’t hesitate to enrol in a new bachelor (not before graduating in journalism though!) When discussing her shift of interest from journalism to marketing, Lauren recalls how different she felt studying for this new subject. The way her face lights up when she talks about it simply says it all. 

Feeling enthusiastic, empowered and eager to learn are three concepts that quickly come up in the discussion around happiness in the workplace. Sometimes, however, it might be worth taking a step back to see just how much impact your personal choices might have on these three aspects of self actualisation. And as Lauren says : “the most satisfying rewards come from the biggest challenge”. 

Sometime, the right path is not the easiest one

Despite straying away from her childhood dream, Lauren feels at home in her current position as junior marketeer. She may not be a reporter strutting around the world like Tintin and Milou, but she’s nothing short of a budding globe trotter, with loads of adventures to tell you about and wisdom to share. She tells us about her most recent (and favourite) trip, which was also her first solo trip: “I just wanted to try it, without friends or family. Just be on my own.” Her destination of choice ? Dublin, to the palpable disbelief of people around her  “They say it rains a lot there but it was actually sunny everyday, and the people were so nice”. 

Regarding her motivation for travelling solo, she explains that she used to wait around a lot for holidays to sort of organise themselves “ I used to be very dependent. Waiting for my friends, my family to have time for a holiday…” This time she decided to simply go for it. A loner, our Lauren ? “I was alone but I never felt lonely,” she says. She later admits she actually quite enjoyed being in total control of her day, and felt pretty happy on her own. 

Her trick to a well rounded solo trip : a distant cousin of the classic to-do list, where she jolted down potential activities and places to see so she would not have to think too hard when visiting the Irish town. “I’m a good planner” she says, and a laid back one : “I don’t plan every second of my day, but when I have time I just check my list and see what I can do. […] I just go with the flow.”

“Know thyself” said Socrates

Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations might teach you a thing or two about the art of risk taking, and the rewards that follow. For Lauren, it meant going on a solo trip, but you can already get interesting insights from simply eating alone at a restaurant. 

When it comes to her job, she is all about finding the right balance. When comparing her workload to the sea, she says she likes it more when the waves a flowing in. “I like the before and afters. That what motivates me for the next projects”. A fervent adept of the to do list, she says crossing things out gives her great satisfaction, but she also stresses the importance of being flexible. Carrying some wisdom from solo tripping to project management, she knows that sometimes all it takes is to just “go with the flow”. But is that all there is to her happiness ?

Responsibilities don’t usually happen naturally for junior marketeers, and Lauren is no exception. When the sea is too calm for her liking, she’s not afraid to ask and suggest, taking active control of her own happiness and motivation. Recently, she even hit it big in her current position, by harnessing the power of her own determination and earning rewarding responsibilities as well as satisfying results. All she had to do was to go for it and ask.

Looking at the bigger picture, there is a lot to learn from Lauren’s experience by looking at the way her request was met. Building trust is a two way street, and to give a talent the space and opportunity to develop their skills is a great way to show trust and recognition. Big project aside, Lauren reckons frequent, genuine compliments, like “good job” or “Well done, I didn’t think of that” go a long way, no matter who says it. Over here at Ariad, we couldn’t agree more.

All it takes is faith and trust

Intrinsic motivation, self leadership and a fostering environment are important pillars of happiness at work, and so is getting to know yourself on a deeper level when it comes to finding the right balance. Lauren’s experience in drawing insights from her personal challenge and leveraging her strength is a perfect example of how to achieve great levels of satisfaction at work. So go and learn to know yourself, where you came from and where you are now, and by all means don’t wait for life to happen. 

May Lauren’s story be an inspiration to managers and newcomers alike : sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of faith and trust.