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How to Find Your Ideal Career Path Without Wasting Time on Jobs Not Suitable for You
Jenny Marchal
Jenny Marchal is a freelance writer. Full Bio
Life has a habit of not always working out how we imagined it would. In an ever-evolving technological and economic world, the types of careers we can pursue are far and wide. If we haven’t been one of the lucky ones and figured out our exact career path, or maybe pursued one vocation but realised it’s not really for us, we can be left feeling lost to how we want our careers to look or even what we really want to be doing.
The Problems We Face When It Comes to Choosing the Right Career
Our
economics are constantly changing which means the types of jobs and careers are being shaped accordingly. This can lead us feeling like the job we had no longer fulfills us or is heading in a direction we’re not comfortable with.
But we are also changing too. The change and growth within ourselves isn’t always something we contemplate when thinking about careers when we’re younger. We can also be pressured by loved ones to choose the sensible and lucrative career even if it doesn’t make us happy. We may be driven by money but gradually realise money isn’t what makes us happy but rather the passion behind the job you do.
Because of this we can get to a point in life where we want a change but aren’t able
to figure out what we really want to do and what will really make us truly happy.
Why Choosing the Right Career is Important
Strip it all back and what we really want from a career is the feeling of fulfillment, contentment, accomplishment, passion, and a sense of contribution. Considering we spend a big chunk of our waking lives at work, to be happy in life we need to consider the happiness that our careers give us.
When we’re focused too much on the money and not enough on how we feel getting up every morning and going to work, our jobs and careers can start to make us question what this is really all for. Choosing
the right career path will bring both abundance and happiness but we must get out of the limited mindset that we must stick to what we’ve already chosen. Or that it’s too late in life to change careers, we’re not qualified, there aren’t enough jobs, not enough lucrative opportunities – the list goes on.
How to Go About Finding the Right Career Path for You
So, you’re considering a new career or you’re just starting out on your career journey – where do you start? Don’t despair if you feel utterly lost, there are positive steps you can take in
order to get some ideas flowing and the ball rolling.
Think About What Energises and Excites You
We often forget that choosing a career that we’re passionate about or incorporating the things that excite us is an option. One of the biggest indicators that we’re on the wrong career path is when we don’t enjoy talking about it let alone turn up to do the job.
Finding a career that you’re passionate about is what will maintain it long term. If you’re just focused on earnings then you’re more likely to become unhappy and unfulfilled much more quickly.
Think About What You’re Good At
Having a think about not only what you enjoy, but what you’re good at can really help in identifying what would make a good career choice. Are you
good with people? Do you give good advice? Are you articulate? Do you have a talent for writing? Are you good with animals? Try to think of as many skills that you feel you’re good at and if you’re struggling then ask a good friend or colleague to tell you – sometimes other people are better at seeing us than we are.
A good tip is to identify the skills you use when you’re doing what you enjoy. No matter how insignificant you feel it is, don’t worry just write it down.
Think About a Field of Work Not a Specific Job
One stumbling block can be being
too job-specific when considering a possible career. Once we do this we can get easily discouraged and limited in our thinking. Think about the field of work rather than specifics – for example, if you love helping and being around animals then a veterinarian job may be an idea but there are lots of other options such as becoming a professional dog walker.
The idea is to think outside the box – skills for one job may suit another kind of job – like a teacher’s skill at explaining convoluted topics and using language well to convey the message may make a good writer.
Research the Possible Qualifications Needed
You may
have a list of possibilities so now it’s time to research what you would need to know or what qualifications you may need in order to achieve your dream job. Perhaps you’re considering setting up your own business so looking into business classes could help or maybe you need to go back to school and get a degree. Find the different steps you need to take and don’t feel deterred.
Get to Know People in That Field
Consider networking. Ask around your friends and family to see if they know anyone in a similar field you could chat with. Find online forums or groups that discuss the field of work you’re interested in. By talking to others you will get more of a feel of the work and even advice on how to get started.
Evaluate Your Findings
Once you’ve done some research make sure you take stock and evaluate what you’ve found out. Does this career fit in with the lifestyle you want? Consider
the information you’ve gathered and work through pros and cons. Does it still excite you? Do you feel passionate about it? Will it involve compromise you’re willing to take or is it too much compromise?
It’s always important to check in with yourself.
Sign Up for Training and Experience
A good option is to look around for volunteering opportunities or internships in order to get experience or see if it’s really for you. You have nothing to lose, rather you’re gaining more insight into what you do and don’t want to pursue. It can also eliminate any unneeded areas of study or training elsewhere or help you understand what skills you do
need to develop.
Once you’re positive and excited for your new career adventure then signing up for gaining the necessary qualifications is the next step. Remember to keep focusing on each step rather than the long term in order to keep any doubts or overwhelming feelings at bay.
Keep a Positive Mindset and Don’t Give Up
Our mind is powerful and can determine whether we give up or succeed. Keeping on your path requires a positive mindset – it’s going to feel daunting and a great leap of faith to change your career but by believing and following your passions, inspirations and happiness, you will allow yourself to realise your potential to be happy in your work life. Don’t let others deter you with their limited thinking or opinions – keep on your path with your happiness in mind
and see where it takes you.
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Warren Buffett Says Most People End up Being Average Because They Don't Keep This List
Productivity
Warren Buffett Says Most People End up Being Average Because They Don't Keep This List
Jenny Marchal
Jenny Marchal is a freelance writer. Full Bio
Sitting down and setting your life goals can be exciting and motivating. It gives us purpose, sets clear intention, makes us feel productive and creates the feeling of moving forward.
But
have you ever started out making a mental or physical list of your goals only to end up with quite a few? Then when you start acting on them, they either end up cast aside or only half achieved? Having goals has been drummed into us from an early age but are having all these goals actually hindering us?
Warren Buffett, one of the most successful businessmen in the world today, questions the need for having so many goals. Instead he puts his success down to eliminating, sometimes important goals, in order to focus on the few that will bring the success we desire.
Warren Buffett asked his pilot to list 25 priorities in his life
To
illustrate Buffett’s idea, there’s a great story involving his personal airplane pilot of 10 years, Mike Flint, and how Buffett helped him to focus and prioritize his goals using a 2-list strategy.
Buffett asked Flint to carefully think about, and write down his 25 top career goals. Once Flint spent time doing this he came back and presented them to Buffett. He then asked Flint to pick out the top 5 most important goals.
So at this point Flint now had two separate lists – the list of 5 goals and the list of 20 remaining goals.
Like many of us, Flint
concluded that he would focus primarily on his top 5 and work towards the other 20 as and when he could find the time.
However, Buffett stopped him and said that this is actually the path of becoming unsuccessful because really he should now throw away his list of 20 altogether – no matter how important many of them may be – and focus solely on the top 5.
Why? Because that list of 20 is essentially a distraction.
Average people don’t know they should AVOID seemingly important things in their lives
The reason we often never succeed with our goals is because we don’t prioritize, focus and therefore, complete, the important
few.
It’s human to get demotivated and distracted – two feelings that can be the death of our goals. The bigger the list of goals we have, the more chance there is to give up and move on to the next one in the hope that this one will succeed.
If what Malcolm Gladwell claims is true, to become an expert in any field we must spend 10,000 hours of deliberate practice towards gaining knowledge in that area. That equates to 20 hours each week for
almost a year, for a total of 10 years.
So imagine Flints original list of 25 goals – that would mean it would take him 250 years to fully master his complete list. You can see how having too many goals can lead you down the path to a less successful and fulfilling life.
Make sure you keep the “Avoid-at-all-cost list”
Minimizing has become a hot topic when it comes to living the best life we can and this also applies to our life goals. Like our physical stuff, it can be hard to make a decision to throw certain goals out of the window when they feel
important to us. But the process itself allows us to work out our priorities and what’s truly important.
Try writing out 25 goals – whether it’s long term goals or even short term weekly or monthly goals – and start the process of prioritising in order to discover your top 5.
Now, instead of literally throwing the list of 20 away completely, label this your avoid-at-all-costs list to serve as a reminder of what not to focus on. This is the list that will decrease your time and focus and ultimately your success. In other words, if you start working on this list you are in danger of having 20 half-finished goals instead of 5 completed ones.
Whatever your top 5 goals are, whether you want to learn a new language or skill, or work towards a
particular career goal, make a conscious effort to stick to these. Keep motivated to achieve these goals and don’t wander onto your second list. Remember, your time investment is key to success and this time will be compromised the more goals you take on.
Get the success you want: prioritize efficiently, focus intently and stick to it.
References
Featured photo credit: Fortune Live Media via flickr.com
About Lifehack
Lifehack is about helping you improve your life through efficient and comprehensive learning. By leveraging the vast
amount of knowledge available to us, we explore and present a wide variety of content catered to encouraging individual growth and solving problems.
Learn more about our mission
Advertising
Advertising
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