Career in midst of a hectic job – how to go about it?
How to go about choosing a career?
Nearly everybody knows what they want to take up as a career or basically how they want to pursue life. Yes, you do! But, when it is time to decide, there are only a handful of people who ask themselves the right questions or are able to get the right guidance.
We keep running after what is happening around the world or what people around us are doing. And, most of the times, we are busy focusing on what others are taking up as a field of study or career. For example, comparing salary packages during college placements and then opting for job because everyone wants a higher package.
But, after only a couple of months into the job, the reality hits you. Most of you start to dislike your job and end up thinking of ways to earn more. But, this doesn’t solve your problem at all. Instead, the problem is further aggravated and you ultimately wish to get out of your job. This happens because you introspect to identify what you are best at or want to be best at.
Whenever I ask someone about what he or she wants to do in life, I get a common answer. ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I am confused’. But, when I ask them to imagine that there are no monetary issues, or pressure from friends, family or society, and think of what they want be in their life – they are able to tell their strengths and desires. This is when I got to know that, inside, most of us know our desires but fail to achieve them because of the circumstances that surround us all the time.
So, the question here is not what you want to do, instead, it is how you should take steps towards it. And, if you don’t know what you really want to do, then it is wise to explore. Explore till you get what you want. Trust me, there are no downsides of it.
“What do you see yourself as in a situation where you do not have any monetary issues, or career-related pressure from friend, family and society?”
Here, I have rounded up a list of steps that you can follow in order to be able to choose the right career path for yourself:
Step 1: The first thing you need is 'Time'
The time to think and become clear about your career goals is the key to start. But today, as youngsters, we are busy with all the wrong things. Many of us tend to believe that we have all the time in the world to think about our career. But, this is absolutely incorrect. In fact, you have much less time to make a great career than you think. So, here’s how you can give yourself some quality time to think about your career, on a daily basis:
- Use time before going to bed at night or immediately when you wake up. This will help you in daily self analysis. Keep your phone away from your reach during these times.
- Discuss your aspirations with friends or family. Even if they don’t have points to guide you, you will see that just the discussions would bring clarity. You can do this every weekend.
You must understand, you will be able to minimize all your life struggles just by developing the habit of giving yourself enough time to think about all your life situations, career goals, and overall life goals.
Step 2: Clarity about where you are and where you want to be
Here, I won’t tell you about the career stream that you should choose, but the prerequisite. That is, what you should be thinking while choosing a career stream for yourself. Most important being, never mixing up your career goals with making money. No doubt, money is an important tool and a necessity. But, pursuing a task just for money will only add up to the frustration and stress.
Bringing clarity to what you really want can be the most challenging thing until done with the right guidance. You need to realise the power of clarity and guidance. People with a clear vision have changed the face of this earth. So, when you would be able to clearly see yourself doing your thing, you won’t need motivation anymore.
- Discuss with someone experienced, like a mentor. You will be able to have better clarity of your life in less time.
- Write down everyday, what you really want. It may take time to find what you actually want to do.
- Visualise your dreams, every single day. Think how you would feel living your dreams.
Step 3: A well-mapped plan for oneself
Once you are clear with what you want, you would need a well-mapped plan to achieve your desires. The plan would be different for different careers and different dreams. Hence, it is best to talk to one or more people who are experienced in particular domain. A plan must be well written and not something just in your head.
Earning first but then, pursuing your passion can also be a part of the plan. But then it must be a carefully calculated decision, and written with timelines. Make everything time bound and measurable since most people are never able to get out of this vicious circle.
To get help with clarity and planning, chat with us here.
Step 4: Execution - Taking actions on your plan
While you take actions as per the plan, here are some tips to help you stay focused in long term:
Choose your company
Keep in touch with people with success stories. Why most of our plans are not executed effectively? It is because we don’t have good company or are usually surrounded by a bunch of lazy people. It is very important for us to change our company for good and keep in touch with ambitious people. People who are equally passionate, in order to be able to lay the right career path for ourselves.
Track your progress
Tracking your daily progress may seem like a burden but trust me, this gets the things done really fast and keeps you on track. Make a file for yourself and choose a tracking method.
You can also use a journal to track you daily, weekly, monthly and annual progress. I personally use Hal’s The Miracle Morning Journal. Make graph of percentage of goals you completed vs. weeks in weekly reviews. This is something which I personally do and has helped me see the clear progress.
The investment mindset
In order to be able to keep yourself focussed on your long-term career or life goals and achieve them, you would need to invest in their execution. A key thing people keep telling these days is invest and it is completely agreeable. Right investment at right time can even make you the CEO of a company.
But, I know not all of us like to read, conduct market analysis or prepare company balance sheets. Investment is not just markets, investment is in your daily decisions. So, be aware of the investment decisions that you make on a daily basis and be familiar with the investment mindset.
Whether you go to cinema to watch movies, take a full day off to rest or go for a movie with friends, you are investing your time and money in it. But, you feel great only when you are able to derive maximum returns out of an investment. So, when you invest more time in learning a skill etc., you would grow faster and feel better about what you are doing. Make better investments and love yourself.
In a nutshell, all that you need to choose the right career for yourself is:
- Time for yourself
- Clarity of where you are and where you want to be
- A well-mapped Plan
- Focused execution
If you understand what you wish to be in this lifetime, you just need motivation and right guidance to succeed. But, if you can clearly see what you want to do, you become self-motivated to achieve it and don’t need external motivation anymore.
Start a chat here to discuss more with us.
Don’t just think about what you want, take actions!
