Ruthann M. Wilson

Career Journey: Things I’ve learned along the way

I’m grateful for a fulfilling career across multiple industries. In this post, I’ve shared a few practical lessons that helped me grow, adapt, and lead with purpose.

Be where you are

Know what’s expected of you and do it well. Being present means making the most of your current role: learn, grow, excel, and enjoy the work in front of you. It has a way of opening doors and drawing people and opportunities to you that will enable you to grow into your next role.
Learn from the past. Plan for the future. Live in the present by making the most of where you are right now.

Develop transferable skills

Develop skills that are relevant across roles and industries (e.g., communication, collaboration, problem-solving, adaptability, etc.). My career has spanned several industries including pharmaceuticals, telecom, consumer goods, and hospitality, made possible by developing and applying transferable skills.

Stretch Through Projects and Roles

Welcome assignments that help you stretch and grow. Growth doesn’t always come through promotion. Sometimes it’s a lateral move or a stretch assignment that helps you build new capabilities and prepare for what’s next. Embrace the journey of growing into your next role. Be as open to a lateral move or stretch assignment in your current role as you are a promotion if it will help you grow and ultimately achieve your career goals.

Listen & Learn

Feedback is a gift. Be open to constructive feedback from peers, managers, leaders, etc. Solicit feedback in a way that it is constructive and enables you to grow (e.g., behavior-based, example-based, suggestions for improvement, etc.). Ideally, leaders should include feedback gathered from business partners, peers, etc. as a part of mid-year and/or year-end conversations. If you’re not receiving regular feedback, ask for it, and be open to what you hear.

Surround yourself with people who want to see you grow

Spend time with people who genuinely want to see you grow. We all need inspiration, encouragement, reality checks, and people with whom we can be vulnerable in our personal and professional lives. Spend time with people who genuinely want to see you grow and be that person for others too.

Own Your Career by Knowing Yourself

Know your values, gifts, talents, passions, abilities, and areas of opportunity. Define what success means to you and revisit that definition as you grow. Your vision may evolve, and that’s part of the journey. Create a plan of action to bring your vision to life. Consider working with a mentor and/or coach. Know the difference between the two and work with them accordingly.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,

Ruthann

Copyright © Ruthann M. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

In-Progress, LLC
Walk your path with clarity and intention
Live in a way that is true for you

Career Clarity through Values: Charting Your Path Forward

Clarity is powerful, and it begins within. This post was inspired by a question: can my book, Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path, support career development? The answer points us back to values, the foundation of both life and career clarity.

Thank you for pausing here. If something in this video resonates with you or sparks a shift, I would love to know what spoke to you. You’re welcome to follow along for future posts, subscribe to the newsletter, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

Learn more and purchase a copy of Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path through Amazon.com.

All the best,

Ruthann

Copyright © Ruthann M. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

In-Progress, LLC
Walk your path with clarity and intention
Live in a way that is true for you

Set Your Theme for Success: Create a Theme for the New Year

A theme is an idea or concept that reflects what you want to create/manifest in your life this year. It can represent what you desire for your life overall, be specific to a life area (e.g., health and fitness, career, relationships, etc.) or a quality that you would like to magnify in your life (e.g., peace, love, joy, etc.).

Identify a word or create a short phrase that sums up what is most important to you this year. Use your theme to create 3-5 goals. Ensure your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound), use positive language, and affirm what you want to create versus what you want to avoid.

Review your theme on a daily basis. It will serve as a source of inspiration and motivation throughout the year. Consider using images and/or symbols as a visual reminder of your desired outcome.

Need help setting SMART goals? Check out my post SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who might benefit from the message, please share by clicking on a share button below.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous year!

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Year-End Reflection Practices to Finish Strong

This year (2023), I’m revisiting the practice of finishing strong. In this short video, I provide suggestions to bring the year to a close in a way that sets you up for success in the year ahead.

Evaluate progress toward your goals.
Celebrate what you have accomplished to date.
Complete what needs to be completed.
Make room for something new.

To support your reflection, I’ve included a downloadable worksheet updated for 2023 so you can work through the exercises step by step. You can access the worksheet here.

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All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Gratitude: A 30‑Day Practice to Begin and End Each Day with Thanks

Gratitude is a simple yet profound practice that can shift how we experience life. By beginning and ending each day with thanks, we invite peace, contentment, and a deeper awareness of the blessings already present.

Being grateful is a simple practice that can have a profound effect on your life. Everyone has something to be grateful for – food, shelter, clothing, family, friends, health, career, financial abundance, transportation, new beginnings, new opportunities, life lessons – just to name a few. When we focus on what we have and feel a deep sense of gratitude for it, we are able to shift into a state of peace and contentment even if life is not exactly as we wish it to be.

For the next 30 days, I invite you into a gentle rhythm of gratitude, twofold in its simplicity:

Begin and end each day with gratitude. You may be thinking that you are too busy and not able to add anything else to your schedule. I hear you! It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. As an example, in the morning, I simply give thanks for the gift of a new day as soon as I open my eyes. In the evening, I review the day and express gratitude for whatever I consider to be gifts, blessings, or life lessons. I enjoy writing things down as it gives me an opportunity to review what I have captured over time. Create a daily practice that works for you and your lifestyle.

Express gratitude to others. Make a point to call, send an email, send a text, write a handwritten note to someone each day expressing gratitude.

If you miss a day, it’s okay! Work toward creating a consistent practice over the next 30 days and beyond.

Gratitude is a daily choice to notice, honor, and give thanks for the gifts of life.

Thank you for pausing here. If something in these words offered insight or stirred a shift, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You’re welcome to follow the blog to receive notifications of new posts, subscribe to the mailing list to receive new posts and updates directly to your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

With gratitude,
Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Fall Reflections: Gather your gifts, blessings, and life lessons

Hello October!

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe it is the last quarter of the calendar year. What a journey it has been from January to today!

I welcome the change of season and the gifts and opportunities that it brings. Autumn is a season of harvest, thanksgiving, reflection, completion, and letting go of of things that no longer bring you joy or serve your highest good.

Quiet Reflection

This month is a good time to begin harvesting by asking yourself questions like “What did I learn?”, “How did I grow?”, “Who or what has been my greatest blessing?”. Asking and answering these questions in writing is a wonderful way to bring awareness to the gifts, blessings, and life lessons that have been provided to you this year. Schedule time to sit in quiet reflection and answer the suggested questions or create your own. Set an intention to make this process a seasonal practice, if it isn’t already one. Use the power of the written word to solidify this practice.

Evaluate Progress

It’s also a great time to evaluate progress relative to your goals. If you have formal goals, check your progress relative to the milestones you established at the beginning of the year. If you don’t have formal goals, think about what you set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year and what you have accomplished to date. In evaluating progress, think not only about what you have accomplished, but who you have become as a part of the process.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who might benefit from reading it, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Journal Practice: Tips and Benefits for Reflection and Growth

In this short video, I discuss the benefits of beginning and maintaining a journal practice.

Thank you for taking the time to watch this video. If you know someone who might benefit from the message, please share it by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Monthly Reflection: Begin with the end in mind

We are all given the gift of twenty-four hours each day to spend as we choose. It is a gift that we treasure through the choices that we make. In the busyness of life, it’s easy to operate on autopilot and forget that we have the power to choose how we spend our time.

Time is one of your most valuable resources and it is inextricably linked to your life. The way you spend your time is the way you spend your life. The key to making the most of your time is to stay focused on what truly matters. It is an intentional process of reflecting on how you are spending your time relative to your values and goals.

As we begin a new month, I invite you to set aside 15 minutes to begin with the end in mind. Ask yourself the following questions with the end of the month in mind.

💥What have I accomplished?

💥Who have I spent time with?

💥How do I feel?

💥What do I need to start, stop, or do more of so that I can feel (whatever you identified)?

Create a daily structure that will enable you to bring what you have envisioned to life. Evaluate your progress on a weekly basis. Be patient with yourself and trust the process.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Know Yourself: The Key to Personal Success

SUCCESS is deeply personal and likely to change as you journey through life. Regardless of your age, it’s important to have your own definition of success to inspire and guide you. When you know what is important to you, and you understand why it’s important, you build a great foundation. This helps in creating your own definition of success.

This week, I invite you to deepen your knowledge about yourself. Use the power of the written word to work through the following:

💥KNOW who you are. Identify 3-5 positive “I AM” statements that describe you at your core. Affirm these qualities on a daily basis.

💥KNOW your values/what is most important to you. Write down 3-5 core values.

💥KNOW the reason(s) the values you identified are most important to you.

💥ENVISION what your life would look like if you were living your values. If your life is exactly as you envisioned, high five! If not, start to make changes to bring your life into alignment with your values.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who will gain from reading it, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Harnessing the Power of Questions for Personal Growth

A regular practice of asking and answering powerful questions is a great way to keep yourself open to possibility and moving forward; however, not all questions are created equal. For example, asking yourself “Why am I stuck?” will yield a lot of reasons as to why you’re stuck. Important to know, but it doesn’t move you to action. A powerful follow-up question would be “What is the best thing I can do right now to move forward?” This two-step line of questioning yields insight as well as creativity and action.

The word power is defined as influence. A powerful question will influence how you think and feel and motivate you to action. Asking and answering questions can be easily incorporated into your journal practice OR simply use a notebook to begin this practice. There is power in putting your questions and answers in writing.

If you need support in creating a journal practice, check out my video about creating a journal practice.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace