With my vast interactions across all segments of our society one common question I’m asked is “how can one know if the job he or she is doing is the right one” with many people who often wish to know if they are in the right job.
I tell them that the answer is inside them and your answer is inside you too. Your inner feeling never lies. What you should do next is there, waiting for you.
This feeling being based more on job satisfaction, the other question is; does it give me the right returns any more in keeping with the current potential built over the years. After all we all want a satisfying job in the right organisation with the right pay- this is the fact and everything else is ‘hearsay’
Re-asses your situation
One of the biggest career challenges is your ability read your inner feeling when direction is needed. For example, how can you listen to what your heart says is the right career move when you are stressed and busy? How can you uncover what you’re supposed to be doing next when you have a job to get to everyday, kids to take care of, and loved ones you want to spend time with? There is just too much to do isn’t it?
Making time for you does not have to be hours at a time. Just enough to give you clarity about your career. You can spend five minutes in the morning before you get out of bed. You can spend five minutes while you are in the shower, or ten minutes while you are driving or riding to work.
The goal is not how long, but what you do with the time you have. If you clear your mind for a few minutes each day, over time, the answers you are seeking will come to you.
But mind you – this process I’m asking you to follow is not to change the job with a predetermination that you should change the job – its to ask the question “am I in the right job” and the rest of the process will follow.
Career dreams
Unless, you make time to listen to your inner voice and when you don’t spend time on your goals, the goals get lost. Your career dreams start to vanish. What you want in your career becomes a blur.
You know what you are doing in your career is not the right thing for you anymore, but you don’t know how to go about finding something different. You blame yourself.
If only you were smart enough, creative enough, talented enough, then a great career would come to you. A great career is possible, but not without your conscious participation and consideration.
Until you decide to take a better step, the actions necessary to make this happen cannot begin. There are always reasons to stay where you are. The money is good.
The job market is tough. What you know is better than what you don’t know. Or, is it? It’s actually harder to stay in a bad situation than to work towards happiness. Listen to your inner voice. If it says it’s time to act, then listen. Decide that today is the day your career begins to change for the better.
Comfort zones
It takes courage to move forward in your career. What happens if you are wrong? What about the people in your life who will tell you, “I told you so” But, what happens if you are right? Maybe the answer you have been hearing is there for a reason.
Maybe you are meant to do something different. Maybe you have done all you can where you are, and you are supposed to go somewhere else so you can make the difference you are always talking about.
How will you know if you do not try? Tell yourself again and again that you can - until you believe it. There is no job in the world that will completely satisfy each and every aspect of a job.
Take action today
Do you know if your next career move is going to work out or not? No one knows in the beginning. All you have is what feels right to you inside. If you keep moving towards what feels right and move away from what feels wrong, you will be happier.
You will have more optimism and energy. The light at the end of the tunnel will start to appear. Taking the first step is always the hardest, but know that the steps get easier over time.
Action brings action. One action today, leads to many actions completed tomorrow. The right career moves are in you. They will work out if you take the path you know you are supposed to take.
Your peak demand is limited to about 20 years; say from 25 years to 45 years for many management level jobs; this is when you must get the best returns.
If the existing place doesn’t offer you the best isn’t it better to explore? What do you say?
Demand is limited and you only have one life to live, so it might as well be a life you love thru the job you love. With the average life span of a Sri Lankan being 72, you only have 864 months to live and 35 years to work which is only 420 months.
BUT, change only if you have a rationale reason to change not an emotional one.