As a career coach, a question I get from clients repeatedly is, “where do I start in identifying a career I’ll love?” They know what is not working in their job, and they know they have a greater potential that is not being expressed, but they don’t know where to start in making a change. They often immerse themselves in job boards; looking for a job title or job description to answer their problems. But it’s not working. They feel trapped and lost.
The best advice I can offer them is below:
Follow Your Interest and Enthusiasm – I find the key to getting out of stuck and stale thinking about your career is to allow yourself to follow your interest and enthusiasm. I call these two keys, interest and enthusiasm, the breadcrumbs that lead you to a satisfying career.
So what does that mean to follow your interest and enthusiasm? It means you give yourself a chance to dream, be creative, and allow inspiration to hit. It means you ask yourself on a Saturday morning what you would like to do, instead of following your routine. It means you begin to ask yourself what you’re interested in and excited about. For instance, is there a cooking class that’s been calling you for the past 6 months that you haven’t signed up for yet? Is there a beautiful park near your house that you meant to relax in during the summer, but never gave yourself that time? Follow these instincts for what is calling you. By doing that, you open yourself up to inspiration and possibility, and that’s what you need in order to spark new ideas for your career.
So step away from searching endlessly on job boards for your ideal career, and start asking yourself what interests and excites you. This is the first step toward building a satisfying career.
