By Howard Sambol
Introduction
Are you unsure about what career to pursue? Do you wish an angel would come down from heaven and tell you what to do with your life? Has your current field turned out to be a dead end or less satisfying than what you had hoped? Or, perhaps, after spending many years of being in a satisfying profession, you are now finding yourself at a crossroads point needing to make some new choices. If any of these are true, this article is for you!
Our purpose here is to get you started with the process of clarifying your ideal career direction. We will be showing you how to design your future. This process requires a "big picture" view and a willingness to put aside previous assumptions in order to create new opportunities. So, take a moment now to "wipe your slate clean" and be willing to approach designing your future with a new and fresh perspective.
Without realizing it, many people seek to satisfy their immediate income needs AND their desire for career fulfillment at the same time. This often causes confusion, frustration and other problems. Therefore, we will operate with the premise that you have some source of immediate income, which we will refer to as your Taxi Job. If this need has not been satisfied, I recommend that you create and implement a plan for satisfying your short term needs while applying the recipe here for designing your ideal future.
Step 1: De-Mystifying the Process of Gaining Clarity
Most programs give you a set of tests that attempt to fit you into some established occupational title or category. Instead, our aim here will be to teach you HOW to uncover your deepest desires and motivations. This is the source of your career success and fulfillment.
When you are clear about your own interests, values, skills and passions, you can craft these into a career path you can fully own as yours. This allows you to know in your heart that you are pursuing what you want and something that will allow you to be successful on your terms, whatever is meaningful to you.
With this orientation, you are not pursuing a path because someone told you it's what you should do or just because there's good money to be made in this field, but because it is the central, strongest motivation inside you. Don't worry. We did not forget about money. This will be factored in later.
Today, clarity is available to anyone who wants it. Some people find it natural and easy to be clear, to know what they want while others struggle continuously with this issue all their lives. Most people agree that clarity is important. The question is how do we go about "getting it" and why is it so difficult for some to achieve?
Let's consider a profile of a a person who is naturally clear on what they want to do. From careful observation we see that a clear person has a particular kind of relationship with himself. The relationship is based on acknowledging, validating and speaking the truth when he or she knows it and uncovering the truth when he or she doesn't. This is the underlying key to knowing what you want and being able to pursue it confidently and successfully.
Step 2: Overcoming the Barriers to Gaining Clarity
It is now useful for you to ask yourself the following questions:There are many things that often get in the way of people knowing what they want. For example, some people hold on to the viewpoint (and the fear) that they will never be able to make money doing what they love. As a result, they unconsciously stop themselves from even attempting to know what it is they truly love. Their lack of clarity in turn perpetuates the cycle of being unmotivated, confused and stuck in a job that is unsatisfying. We often see people like this spending the best years of their life unhappy and in dead end jobs. Ultimately, this prevents them from ever attaining the level of success and fulfilment they truly want and deserve. Does this sound familiar?
By virtue of the fact that you are reading this, it is time for you to take a close look at what is standing in the way of knowing what you want. You can begin by writing down all that you do know about the life you want and also where you're still unclear. Wherever possible, formulate questions in areas where you are having difficulty. Even better, ask a friend to ask you questions which will help you determine where you are stuck. If you're not sure who to ask or simply don't have resources available, consider getting someone to coach you.
Step 3: Tools for Gaining Clarity
Analytical Assessment consists of exercises that identify your interests, skills and values. This systematic identification is basic to any career assessment and is highly recommended as a good place to begin your journey.
Perhaps you have always been intrigued by some area but never studied it in school because you felt it was impractical or because you were lacking in some ability or talent. Well, now is a good time for you to open your mind to these areas and discover the potential they have for you. You will have plenty of opportunity later to identify the income potential of these interests but do not let your beliefs about this deter you.
Creative Assessment methods allow you to include "right brain" skills such as imagination, intuition and creativity in the clarification process. Some examples are visualization and creative writing exercises. One of the most powerful of the creative assessment techniques is called Clarity Dialogue. It is an interactive technique done with 2 or more people that allows you to clarify just about anything in your life. Its fun, creative and VERY revealing.
How do you do a Clarity Dialogue? You simply ask questions in a fashion that bring about discoveries and insights. Clarity Dialogue sessions are directed by a friend or a guide or coach. The idea is to unravel your interests more and more and discover what is really the passion underneath it all. After going through several Clarity Dialogues you will have gained tremendous insights about what you love! You will also see how you unknowingly have placed barriers in your path and how to remove them.
Step 4: Learning to Live Life Passionately
People sometimes associate career fulfillment with living life passionately. This implies that you are most likely to experience fulfillment when you are engaged in something that you care about deeply and that you are connected to emotionally.
So much of our educational process and day to day living emphasizes cognitive (intellectual) awareness that you may have been seeking passion and fulfillment in places it doesn't exist. The challenge is to uncover the passion that lives inside you which you feel in your body. To accomplish this you need to expand your capacity to FEEL. When you learn how to open yourself up to deeper levels of feeling you give yourself permission to really come alive! This is the doorway into feeling satisfaction in all areas of your life.
Ways of Knowing Things
If you're like most people, you are aware of WHAT you know but probably not HOW you know it. Yet, the way you know something makes a big difference in your life. For example, recall something you learned in college that originated from a professor or textbook. Now think of the real world experiences which occured later in life which not only reinforced the original principle but gave it life because it was so real when it happened.
A good example is learning how to ride a bicycle. You cannot teach someone to ride a bicycle by means of explanation. They must get on the bicycle and "experience" what it feels like to ride it. Once they have had this experience, it is unlikely that they will forget it even if they don't ride in a while. Clarifying your ideal career direction needs to be this kind of experience, not limited to the intellect but including a gut level "experiential knowing" of the path that is right for you.
Step 5: Writing Your Career Objective Statement
After you have completed your journal writing and Clarity Dialogue exercises and are beginning to get a sense of where things are heading, it is now time for you to write a career objective statement based on what you have learned so far. Expect this statement to change numerous times before it feels totally perfect for you. This is completely natural. Learning and growing is an evolutionary process.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that it takes some time to complete the above steps. However, it is worth the effort no matter what it takes. There are few things more important than learning the truth about what you love. It is a very special gift that only you can give to yourself.
-- Howard Sambol is a career coach with over 21 years experience guiding people to achieve success and fulfillment in their professional lives. His innovative Career Crafting program will empower you to turn what you love into a successful career or business. If you're ready to live with passion and purpose and make the money you really want, then now is the time to apply Career Crafting to your life. To learn more visit http://www.careercrafting.com and take the new visitors guided tour.
