How To Find the Right Career
Kent R.
I receive a number of e-mails from people expressing the increased need for work/life balance. This is a great point and allows me the opportunity to expand on this topic.
While I regularly make it very clear that you should find work that resonates and feels right, your job/career should never define you. I know that may sound strange coming from a Career Development and HR guy, but indulge me for a second.
The best jobs and careers are an extension of your strengths and values with (hopefully) a heavy dose of passion in the mix. Because that's the case – that fulfilling work is a natural extension of the best of you – your life will never be defined by your work. If you do the heavy lifting that's required to figure out who you are and what you should be doing with your life, work/life balance will rarely, if ever, be out of sync.
I want to ask you to address some questions that I've posed here before. Consider the following in 2017:
What changes do you want to make?
What will bring you more career satisfaction?
What necessary "next move" have you been delaying?
The number of people I meet in unfulfilling jobs/careers is alarming. There’s a huge price to pay when that’s the case. For one, unless you’re feeling fulfilled and in sync, that little voice in your head will always be nagging you – reminding you that you aren’t feeling so hot about your career. There’s a solution, though, that helps to quiet that nagging voice. Pursue fulfillment.
You see, if you are at the very least pursuing your purpose, you are “on purpose” and the voice is dulled. Many people view the job dilemma as an either/or sort of thing. You’re happy or you’re not. That’s what keeps people from taking steps forward. Tiny steps, even, that get them closer and closer to feeling in sync.
Fulfilling work that will resonate with you is within your reach. It starts by taking one step at a time. I’ve worked hard – and even faced a career refocusing – to become an expert and to differentiate myself within the field of Human Resources and Career Development. It wasn’t always easy, and I could have chosen to stay in upwardly mobile but ultimately unfulfilling jobs from my previous career track. My life is much richer all the way around because of the career shift I pursued.
Work/life balance starts with a happy, fulfilled you.
That's my wish for you in 2017.
You still have 11 months to make this your best year ever. Get started now!