Here’s why you might decide to do the same.

Free promotion for your employer

When you update your LinkedIn profile with your job and effectively tag your employer by doing so, you’re endorsing them.

Here’s the thing: When you join a new company, you don’t know if their mission is pure or if they are the real deal. You could have done all the research and then still discover that the company is not what it seems from the outside.

Updating your LinkedIn profile is giving a company the thumbs up and you may not be ready to do that just yet or feel it’s your duty.

Failing in the first 6 months

Most employment laws around the world these days allows for a six month probation period. When you update your LinkedIn profile, you don’t know if you’ll still be at the company in six months. For all you know, you will part ways with your employer.

Updating your LinkedIn profile means that if you fail, it’s going to come up in your career history on LinkedIn.

For me personally, I don’t care and am happy to show people my career failures and setbacks (I’ve made a career out of it). But for some of you, you may not want the whole world knowing if you don’t make it through probation, our you have made the better decision to move on.

The focus of your career

Your LinkedIn profile tells someone a lot about you. For me, I don’t want to confuse people by trying to be too many things to too many people.

I have chosen (for now) to make my LinkedIn profile about my career only and not have any connection to my day job. This allows people to discover who I am and not the sales version of  Mark that you see during business hours.

Many of you have a typical career and work that you do outside of your normal job. Perhaps you might want to highlight that work instead rather than your employer. The choice is yours.

People are not clicking your profile

LinkedIn used to be a resume platform and that has changed a lot. The days of people clicking your profile to see your online resume are long gone. Your profile is still looked at, but just not as much as you think.

If you’re updating your LinkedIn profile like your career depends on it, it doesn’t matter — not anymore, anyway.

The need for privacy

In some areas of my life, I like to be private (you might be the same).

The career situation this year has been a tough one for me and having my LinkedIn profile updated can cause people to treat my circumstances like a reality TV show waiting for the next episode.

It’s nice to know that not everyone knows what I’m up to in my career.

 learn something about you

Now that my LinkedIn profile is solely focused on my  career and accomplishments, it makes the clients I deal with curious.

When they look me up on LinkedIn, they see a different person to one they interact with. There’s this whole other side that they get to discover you are through direct contact, rather than a cliff notes version of what you are about.,

Using your LinkedIn profile to promote your hobby or side-hustle can help your clients see a different side of you.

Final thought

Just because everybody tells you to update your LinkedIn profile like it’s some trophy-winning contest, it doesn’t mean you should or you must.

Learning to sit back sometimes and take no action to see what transpires is an interesting activity. In my case, holding back from updating my LinkedIn profile led me to the realization that I’m not going to update it at all.

Your LinkedIn profile is owned by you and you can use it how you see fit, to make your goals in life come true and perhaps inspire a few people in the process who can learn from you.  You don’t have to update your LinkedIn profile.

the majority of this article was Written by

Tim Denning

Viral Blogger – Inspiring the world through Personal Development and Entrepreneurship. www.timdenning.net

In the face of setbacks, some people seem to fall apart, while others find ways to move forward and continue to get things done. Are there things you can do to be resilient?

Fast Company |

Art Markman

Bad things happen both personally and professionally. Relationships end. Significant others get sick or die. Promotions are given to someone else. Clients leave. Companies go through rounds of layoffs.

In the face of these setbacks, some people seem to fall apart, while others find ways to move forward and continue to get things done. Are there things you can do to be resilient?

The answer to this question is yes—to a point.

First, bear in mind that resilience does not mean ignoring the negative feelings that come along with a tough time. Significant personal or professional losses will lead to feelings of sadness and disappointment. It is natural to grieve about these losses and it is important to give yourself some time and space to do so. You are not obliged to go through all five stages of grief, but you shouldn’t feel guilty if you do experience sadness or anger before you come to accept what has happened.

Second, people seem to have a happiness set point. Generally speaking in the weeks and months after a significant positive or negative life event, you tend to return to roughly the level of happiness you had before that event. That doesn’t mean that events can’t have a long-term influence on how happy you are, just that the best predictor of how happy you will be several months after a big positive or negative event is how happy you were before it.

Third, there are times when negative feelings are the best way forward from a negative event. In particular, stress and anxiety are the natural reaction to a threat in the environment. If there really is a calamity out there that you are trying to ward off, anxiety might be the right response.

One thing that happens when you are anxious is that you tend to ruminate over the cause of the anxiety. Rumination is a repeated cycle of thoughts. If there is a potential threat, then thinking it through carefully may allow you to develop a plan to move forward that will help you to handle the situation. It may not be enjoyable to experience this level of stress, but it still may be useful.

That said, there are several things you can do to help cope with the bad times.

Understand What You Can Control and What You Can’t

The first is to be clear about what factors are under your control. Quite a bit of work shows that when times are bad, people are more resilient when they focus on things they can do to move forward rather than focusing on the ways that circumstances have conspired to put them in a bind. Focus on actions you can take that will make your situation better. As you engage in those actions, you will find that you feel better about your work and will also be more productive.

Surround Yourself With People Even If You Don’t Feel Like It

Next, engage with other people. When you are sad or stressed, you often don’t want to be around others. But there are several advantages to social engagement. When you talk about what is making you sad or anxious, you often find that other people have had similar experiences that they can share. Sadness can make you feel as though your own situation is unique, so knowing you are not the only one going through something can be valuable. In addition, social connection is motivating and can help you to focus on tasks that need to be done.

Look For An Easy Win

When you experience a loss in one aspect of your life, it can make you focus on the negatives across all of the facets of your existence. That is not a good time to embark on a long project that may not succeed. Instead, find something in your work life that you can complete quickly and successfully. That way, you can remind yourself that a significant setback is not a sign that you are cursed.

Give Everyone the Benefit of the Doubt

Finally, go out of your way to give a positive interpretation of the actions of others. When you are angry about something at work, you tend to find reasons why other people are an obstacle to your success. This is particularly true when you are passed over for something you wanted. Recognize that most people you work with are potential allies. Just because someone was not able to give you something you wanted does not mean that everyone is out to get you.

When you think negative thoughts about other people, you can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your negative thoughts will influence the interpretation you give to their actions that can cause you to interact with them anger or mistrust. They will notice your attitude and treat you accordingly. Similarly, when you interpret the actions of other people positively, you are more likely to create good interactions with others.

These strategies will help you to minimize the influence of bad events on your life. They will also help you feel better, because each success you have will boost your attitude toward the future.

Art Markman, PhD is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin and Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations. Art is the author of Smart Thinking and Habits of Leadership, Smart Change, Brain Briefs, and, most recently, Bring Your Brain to Work.