Are you in a career that you dislike? Are you ready for a change? Would you transition into something else if you only knew what that something else was?
Many of us stay in our careers longer than we want because we are unsure what we would do next. We tell ourselves that the answer will come to us someday. Then, we will make our move. But in the meantime, we stay where we are, stuck and unhappy.
Your career will not get better until you make it
better. If you want to find a career you love, you
have to put the work in first. Yes, you may tell
yourself that it this hard to do. But isn't staying
in a career that is draining your energy and taking
away from your quality of life harder?
How Can You Discover What Your Ideal Career Is So You
Can Move Forward? Follow These Easy Steps:
1. Write Down What You Like To Do
List 5 things that you like or have liked about the
careers you have been in. This simple exercise will
give you insight and objectivity into what you would
enjoy having in a future career.
2. Write Down What You Dislike To Do
List 5 things that you dislike or have disliked about
the careers you have been in. This exercise will
tell you exactly what you do not want in your next
position.
3. Create Your Ideal Job
Use what you have learned to create your next career.
What are you doing exactly? Are you running your own
company or your own department? What products and
services are you selling? Where are you based? Are
your hours 9 to 5 or longer? Are you telecommuting?
Are you working from home? Most people have a hard
time creating their ideal job because they come up
with all the excuses (and they are great excuses!)
why they cannot make it work. Do not surrender to
your excuses.
4. Research The Market
Who can you talk to in the field you want to get
into? What companies are doing what you know in your
heart you should be doing next? What is not being
offered in the market today that you know you could
offer better than anyone else? Spend some time
exploring the possibilities. Have fun, and take time
to find what is truly you.
5. Create Your Plan
When will you transition into your next career?
Will you start while you are working full-time?
Will you find part-time work so you can spend more
time working on your new endeavor? Or, will you
take the leap (as many people do), and start your new
career full-time? Look at everything, your finances,
your present standard of living, where you are
living, etc. What can you pare down to have your
dream career? It does not matter if you have your
new career today, or 6 months from now. What matters
is that you are taking steps to make it happen.
6. Find Reasons Why It Will Work
There will always be reasons why having a career you
love will not work. Just look at all of your past
mistakes. Isn't that enough to keep you where you
are today? But, how about the other side? The
reasons why it will work; why it will turn out well.
Leave the negativity behind! Focus on why you will
succeed and watch that exact thing take place.
7. Reward Yourself For Moving Forward
It is never easy looking at your career and deciding
that something needs to change. Some changes come
quickly, and some changes come slowly. Regardless
of the pace you go, reward yourself for taking the
strides you are taking.
So what do you say? You only have one life to live
so it might as well be one you love!