Seeking out feedback, good or bad, is a critical piece of the puzzle when aiming to accelerate career growth, suggests W. Warner Burke of Columbia University. This feedback can help gauge strengths and weaknesses, which you can then begin to exploit or improve upon.

Being comfortable in a job can actually be a bad thing and may be a sign that it's time to find something new, explains Julie Vessel of MONO. "If you find yourself in a position where your job is the easiest thing you have to do all day, it's time to make a move," she says.

Some people thrive on attending industry conferences while others do better networking via social media; knowing your strengths can help you succeed long term, points out Mitch Goldstein of Rochester Institute of Technology. Understanding your strengths will help you naturally gravitate toward events that fit your comfort level and skill set, Goldstein adds.

Congress returns today to face Day 24 of the partial government shutdown as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., proposed a temporary fix to the situation. "I would urge [President Donald Trump] to open up the government for a short period of time, like three weeks, before he pulls the plug, see if we can get a deal," Graham said.

It's the soft skills most employers are looking for in today's job market, points out Dan Roth of LinkedIn. A key skill to develop is adaptability, Roth explains, because technology is constantly changing and workers must adapt on the fly.

Your portfolio of work experiences and lessons learned make up your "unique mosaic," which is something you can market to employers, writes Karla Miller. "You are more than your latest degree or your last job title. You are an aggregate of everything you have learned, practiced, failed at and dabbled in throughout your life, paid or unpaid," she writes.

Continually switching back and forth between screens and devices at work can wreak havoc on cognitive function, explains psychologist Pamela Rutledge, and taking a break from it all daily is critical. Eliminating all technology for an hour a day and doing something cleansing, such as meditation or a walk, can recharge your batteries and improve cognitive ability, Rutledge says.

According to research by The Nature Conservancy, only 5% of Earth's land surface is untouched by humans -- a much lower figure than previously estimated. The study found that the most human modification was done in tropical environments and that the least was at high latitudes, such as tundra landscapes.