[A] Honor the glory days and box up the prizes

[B] Get motivated from the past achievements

[C] Cultivate a spirit of giving instead of taking

[D] Take an honest inventory of your unique talents

[E] Utilize technologies to enhance personal skills

[F] Focus on abilities technology can never replace

[G] Take on new opportunities to stretch

Face Your Fear of Becoming Obsolete

Professionals across the career spectrum have moments where they fear they’re already obsolete, or becoming so. Whether you’re early in your career and facing a lifetime of technological and economic disruption, or later in your career and questioning your future relevance to the world, feelings of obsolescence don’t have to trap you in fear or futility. If you suspect that you’re haunted by deep fears of obsolescence, here are some ways to begin breaking free of them and reclaiming your agency, regardless of where you are in your career.

【G1】____________________________________

When we feel insecure about the relevance of our abilities, it becomes all too easy to see them through distorted lenses, either over-inflating their merits or undervaluing them. Gather tangible evidence of your contributions through feedback from colleagues and find out what they believe makes yours uniquely valuable. Ask experts you respect about which capabilities you should focus on strengthening to keep them valuable and relevant in the future.

【G2】____________________________________

For earlier-career employees particularly anxious about technologies like AI and robotics, don’t try and outrun their productivity or analytical powers. Instead, lean into human capabilities like empathy, curiosity, and resilience. As Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic states, “ We may not know what tomorrow’s jobs will look like, but we can safely assume that when people are more curious, emotionally intelligent, resilient, driven, and intelligent, they will generally be better equipped to learn what is needed to perform those jobs and provide whatever human value technology cannot replace.”

【G3】____________________________________

For those later in their careers clinging to past summits of grandeur, honor what you’ve achieved—and let go. Your obsessive focus on the past may be propelling you into the very obsolescence you fear. Seal up the “awards” you keep peering at longingly and look ahead. The intersection of nostalgia and relevance is a crossroads forcing you to choose one or the other. You can’t have both. Nostalgia might get you invited to share your reflections at a professional dinner, but it’s not going to get you assigned to the latest high-profile projects.

【G4】____________________________________

Demonstrating the ability to learn new things is one of the strongest signals you can send to the world about your relevance. More so, it sustains confidence in your ability to adapt to changing conditions, regardless of the stage of your career. Rather than seeing imminent change as a threat to your relevance, ask yourself, “What could this uncertainty be inviting me to learn?” While humans aren’t natural fans of uncertainty, it does create opportunities.

【G5】____________________________________

One potential nasty side effect of fearing our obsolescence is entitlement. Early-career professionals can become irritably insistent about being given prime assignments and opportunities to shine. By contrast, permanent employees feel they’ve “earned” their right to be seen as important simply because of their track record. This conflict between legacy and potential is counterproductive. Replace any hint of such sentiments with a genuine commitment to serving and contributing across generations. Regardless of where you are in your career, maintain a posture of humility, and graciously look for opportunities to help others shine.

【G3】