The Career Shake Down
We are talking career, money and what lights you up inside
Next up, let’s talk about your career. Even if you don’t think you have a “career” per se or, if you are like me and have changed jobs, professions, and fields of work more times that you’d like to explain, let’s review either how you currently make money. If you are not currently working, you can reflect on your last job or how you would like to make money.
Before you get too far into a self-reflecting analysis - I’d like you to answer off the cuff: when you think of your career, how would you rate this from 1 to 10 (with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)?
Then answer why you gave your career this rating?
If you have a low rating, what would it take to get your career to a 10?
If your rating is high, why do you feel this way?
Being alive in American society today, career and the work we do can be a defining factor of who we are. When you meet someone new, a common question is “what do you do?” implicitly, “what do you do for work?” Sometimes this is asked to make small talk and find a discussion topic. The question can also be an attempt to see if there is commonality between strangers.
Personally, I find this inquiry provides a quick snapshot into someone’s world. How do they occupy their days? Does this person work for themselves or are they working for a larger company? Is the work that they do a reflection of their personality, interests or passions? Do they like what they do? How do they talk about their work? Are they working a job just to make ends meet or do they love it? I hope the latter is true but for many people this is not the case.
Speaking as someone who has changed jobs many, many times, I know the pain of working at a job or in a field when your heart is just not in the work. When you are in this state, finding motivation to get through the work week or even the day can be daunting. You may spend a lot of time feeling like you are white knuckling your way through the day and living with an undercurrent of discontent. When I reach this point, I know it is only a matter of time before I move onto something else. Eventually it doesn’t matter how steady the pay is or that the benefits are good, following my heart and doing what lights me up inside trumps everything else.
If you are in a state of discontent with your career or feeling like you would like a change, here’s a few things to ask yourself to gain clarity and redirect:
If I could wave a magic wand and you could make money any way you wanted, what would you be doing and why? What would this look like? How would you spend your days?
What about your career is not within your control? If you are working for someone else or a company, maybe this is the work and tasks that you are doing. You are given direction and as an employee you follow these directions (side note: you could also not follow the directions and perhaps risk getting fired). This could be your pay or benefits. Sure you can ask for more or better but the response is out of your control. This could also be the larger goals or directions of the company.
What is currently within your control? You have a choice to show up for work each day. You have a choice about your attitude or intentions. You have a choice of where you work and how you make money. You can decide the direction of your career.
If you are ready to make a shift in your career, what is one thing you can do this week or this month to move yourself forward?
Remember what is within your control, focus on that, start small and see what even the smallest changes bring you.
If you are fully fed up and ready for a real shake down, I’ve got you. I know exactly where you are and I am the girl you want to talk to. It’s amazing how one conversation can move you into a totally new direction. Let’s chat
In your corner, Naomi