How can it possibly be February already?
Some of you will have felt it fly by while for others, January will have filled you with gloom and dread at the thought of another year stuck in the same job. If you need to make some changes, here are seven easy steps to help you start making the move to a brighter future. Make a note of what you discover at each stage.
1. Understand who you are
Making sure that the work you do suits who you are is a wise thing to do. If you don’t know yourself and what’s important to you, work may not feel a good ‘fit.’ If this is the case, work can feel really tiring . Over time, this can cause you to lose sight of the authentic you and be detrimental to your health and wellbeing. Taking a personality test helps to remind us of our unique qualities. Here’s a link to Truity, which offers a range of free questionnaires.
2. Know your values
If you’ve ever fallen out with someone and felt triggered, it will almost certainly be because of conflicting values. Values are your inner beliefs about you and your world. They act as an internal driver towards what you want or push you away from what you don’t. If you feel at odds with what you do, reviewing what matters to you most will help you see what needs to change.
3. Be clear about your strengths and talents
We’re all naturally predisposed to being good at something, but we often don’t appreciate it. Because it comes so easily to us, we think everyone can do it. If you can identify what you’re naturally good at and put it to work, you can choose to make that central to your next job role. Doing so will make work feel easy, light and pleasurable.
4. Find something you’re curious or passionate about
Passion lies at the heart of those who achieve major career success. If you haven’t found yours yet, start with what you’re curious about and play with it like a cat with a ball of string. Follow the trail and see where it leads you.
5. Think about what difference you want to make
We often look at career as simply a means to an end. Time spent considering what difference you want to make, to who, what and why helps you gain insights into what really matters to you. Shaping your career around the types of challenges that are important to you helps you experience work as worthwhile, while still paying the bills.
6. Decide what sort of tribe you want to be part of
Even with hybrid and remote working, you’re still likely to spend more time with your colleagues and clients than your significant others and family. Knowing yourself and what’s important to you will make it easier to find your tribe.
7. Identify where you want to work
Where you work is just as important as who you work with. We can all feel whether an environment is welcoming warm and friendly or not, so choose wisely. You may prefer to be on the move as you work, or to be seated. Take the example of a doctor in hospital rather than a GP in a local practice. Spending time thinking about how you work best and the type of environment which would support you is an important element when choosing your future direction.
Pulling it all together
Now that you’ve done some thinking, it’s time to consider how to make changes or pivot into a more appealing role.
Getting clear on what you really want will help to prime your brain’s reticular activating system so it can spot opportunities to explore that are more suited to the career direction you truly want.
If you need some help with the seven steps above, you can get a free copy of my one page INSPiRED Career and Life planner here. It is research proven and forms part of my new book, ‘Change Your Story; escape from a job you hate and create a career you love – on purpose.’
We get only get the gift of one life. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to make the most of it, and truly enjoy the ride of life, rather than grinding it out until we retire at 70?
Carolyn Parry is an award-winning career and life coach and founder of Career Alchemy, TEDx speaker, non-executive Director, and newly published author of ‘Change Your Story: Escape From a Job You Hate and Create a Career you Love – on Purpose’.
