Don’t Let the System Decide Your Ceiling

This year has brought a lot of change. The system many of us have worked in, the UN and INGOs, has been shaken. Budgets were cut, programs were reduced, and many good people suddenly found themselves without work. For those coming from countries already struggling economically, this change hit twice as hard. It felt like losing a sense of identity and direction.

But here’s what I’ve learned over the years: the winds of change blow on us all, the difference is how we set our sail. You can’t control the wind, but you can control your direction. And if your sail is set only toward one system, one organization, or one title, then when that system shifts, you drift.

For many of us, working for the UN or INGOs felt like reaching the top of the mountain. It was stability, recognition, and pride. And that’s fine, but here’s the danger: when you believe you’ve arrived, you stop climbing. You stop growing. You stop dreaming. And that’s when life starts to shrink.

Jim Rohn used to say, “Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.” The system has changed, yes. The funding is down, yes. But the real question is, how can we rise above it? How can we become more valuable, more creative, more adaptable? You see, value doesn’t come from the institution you work for; it comes from what you bring to it, and what you carry when you leave it.

Now is not the time to shrink your dreams. It’s the time to stretch your vision. Maybe the system is changing so that you can finally see beyond it. Maybe it’s time to build, to create, to become something new. If you want things to change, you’ve got to change. If you want things to get better, you’ve got to get better.

The world is different now, but that’s our invitation, to think differently, to grow differently, and to remember that we always deserve more than survival. The system may define the job, but you define the future.