Blog 6

I read the article for this week's class soon after conducting my case study interview and found that I could connect many of the concepts described in the article to the career trajectory of my interviewee. Without ever having participated in career counseling, my interviewee went through a number of significant career transitions throughout his life, continually regenerating his concept of self. During these transitions, he was often influenced by external factors, participating in an open exchange or a "give-and take" relationship with the outside world (Bloch, 2005). He was profoundly influenced by his strong spiritual network and members of his church community at several pivotal points throughout his life, even changing positions from a restaurant manager to a salesman because of one specific connection he had with a church member. He also met his wife through these church connections, and this relationship significantly impacted his career decisions at various times. His career is simply a "fractal" of his "entire life experience," which also includes all of the decisions he makes about his personal life (Bloch, 2005). At one significant point in his life, my interviewee experienced a phase transition because of an external circumstance. Ironically, this circumstance occurred at a point in his career when the individual felt "stuck" in his current position. He had a series of experiences in the restaurant industry formed by torus attractors, which are "patterns" that are "clearly repeated with slight differences in he repetition" (Bloch, 2005). Because of this external circumstance, he was forced to seek out other opportunities which eventually led him to his current job as an independent owner of an insurance company, where he's had the highest job satisfaction of his career. Through a particular strange attractor, he was able to realize a higher career potential than he ever deemed possible. I mentioned that my interviewee is very spiritual and the seven connectors between spirit and work described in the article are very evident in his life. These include being open to change in yourself and the world, achieving balance between work and family, having enough energy to accomplish goals, being part of a community, feeling as if one's job is a calling, working in a job that capitalizes upon one's talents and values, and believing that one's job can serve a purpose in serving others (Bloch, 2005). My interviewee has a strong sense of peace and contentedness because he feels as if all of these factors have been realized in his life. Bloch, Deborah, P. (2005)."Complexity, Chaos, and Nonlinear Dynamics: A New Perspective on Career Development Theory." The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 194-207.