When was the last time you stopped to reflect on your goals, dreams and ambitions?
When was the last time you paused to not only think about where you are at in your career but also how you got to where you are today?
If you are feeling unhappy and dissatisfied in your job, it’s possible that you ask yourself these questions on a daily basis. Alternatively you may be so busy in your job or totally resigned to things as they are that you have stopped thinking about what you want.
Other questions you may ask yourself if you are feeling fed up or demotivated in your job or career are:
- Why am I in this job?
- How can I do something I actually enjoy?
- Is it even possible to be paid enough to do something I enjoy?
Few people know exactly what they want to be when they “grow up” at a young age, yet there is a standard path most of us follow. Our career path is normally based on our relatively limited knowledge of the world of work combined with our academic ability.
Our path is also influenced by the people around us as well as cultural and sometimes even gender expectations and stereotypes. We use this external information combined with our own limited experience to make choices about what we want to do possibly for the next forty years.
Is it any wonder so many of us find ourselves in jobs that we find boring, meaningless and unfulfilling?
Most of us join the “rat race” aged 16-21 and by the time we realise, and admit that we are on the “wrong” path, we have been in our career so long that we do not feel as though we are able to do anything else.
Unfortunately we live in a society where career success is often measured by progression, salary, position and material goods such as a house, a car, designer clothes etc. and not by how fulfilling or meaningful we find what we do for a living.
Following the “norm”, a lot of us spend the early stages of our career chasing “success”. The problem is that the idea of success that we are aspiring to has been defined by society or the people around us and not by us.
It is not unusual for people to find themselves feeling physically and emotionally exhausted and lacking any enthusiasm or motivation for their career; which often feeds into other areas of their lives.
With age and experience it becomes clear that material success is much less important than doing something meaningful.
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
Peter F. Drucker
Taking time to reflect on your career path to date, can give you clarity on the following:
- How you got to where you are today
- The aspects of your career that you have enjoyed and found meaningful
- The skills you have developed
- The knowledge you have acquired
- The factors that motivates you
- The kind of environment you thrive in
- What has influenced your choices you have made throughout your career
Writing what I call your “career story” can help you to identify what is missing for you in your career as well as what to look for in a future job or career.
Author Bio:
I’m Leanne Lindsey, a career coach and founder of LL Coaching Ltd www.llcoaching.co.uk. I work predominantly with professional women who are feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled in their career. Women, who are still ambitious and want to be successful, however no longer enjoy their day job and would love to do something more meaningful.
It is my aim to reignite your passion and enthusiasm whilst inspiring and motivating you to create a career and life you love.
