Many of us form ideas of what we want to do in the world of work when we are still at school. We make decisions around which subjects to study, and where to study them. Following on from this, we choose when to continue studying and when to start work. Suddenly, we’re on a career path, and all appears well. This may continue, and we’ve secured our contentment. However, not everyone ends up in that rosy position. You may find yourself questioning if your career is all that you wanted and you begin to wonder what you want to do differently.
If your career is going as planned and as you want, firstly celebrate the choices you have made and the success that you are reaping. Secondly, think about what the next steps are and what you need to do to make them happen. Finally, consider the future and imagine yourself in five, ten, twenty years’ time. If your chosen career path still feels and looks good, keep on going. Alternatively, if you feel any doubt, think about what that means for you.
If, on the other hand, your career is different from what you wanted, it’s time to take a step back. Firstly, acknowledge your honesty and accept that your current position is the result of decisions you made some time ago. It’s OK to make a plan, pursue it, and then have second thoughts. Next, think about what you want to do differently. You may have some ideas and you may not, and that’s OK. If you have some ideas, start to explore them. If you don’t, there’s things you can do with values to see what’s important to you. You can listen to my podcast all about values here.
Crucially, if your career is something other than the success that you planned, there’s always time to change. Gone are the days of a career for life. People can and do change jobs and careers all of time. We can all, with greater or lesser ease, adapt and grow, moving from where we are into a world which pleases and satisfies us more.
So, if you know what you want to do next, do it. If you’re not sure, book an initial consultation here, and you can then work out what you want to do next. You know that you can do it and that it makes sense, don’t you?
