Your career evolves continuously as the years go by. Though there are other external factors that affect your career, you are the main driver of your career. Your career plan should not be a set of steps however a set of activities you are going to do to reach a certain stage in your life. Today we look at the principles that can help you navigate your career and attain your goals.
1. It’s not always, do what you love but also do what you are good at
Focus first on your skills rather than what you love. We all want to want to venture into a career that we love. What is passion anyways without the necessary skills to feed that passion. focusing on your strengths leads to better career progression rather than focusing on what you are not good at which leads you to be stuck in the same position trying to figure out how to fuel your passion. doing what you are good at also translates to doing what you love. There is a reason why you are good at doing one thing and bad at another. Though we all want challenges from what we do, sometimes the clearer road is the right path to job satisfaction.
2. Never stop learning
The world is never stopping. Times are always changing. A dollar today is not the same dollar tomorrow, so is life in general. In this age of technology job descriptions are changing by the day, the modern bank teller is very different from a bank teller of the previous decades. So, keep improving yourself, read books and network with other people in different careers. Try to gather all the knowledge you can, it will come in handy one day.
3. Carve your own path
Although we admirer heroes and mentors, we are not the same. You are you and they are them, the best you can get from them is motivation and the occasional advice but you cannot be a carbon copy of who they are. Happiness comes from being yourself not being someone else. Try to find your identity and go with that and whatever you do you
will find satisfaction from it. Also, stop comparing yourself with others, it only leads you to unsatisfaction. As people we are all at different stages in our lives, try to improve yourself and compare yourself to your previous self.
Work hard as you much as you play hard. Yes, that’s a cliché statement through its truth. Work and life balance are important for your mental psyche. Working all the time leads to exhaustion and general unhappiness. Spend time with your loved ones revive yourself and get back in the game.
5. Keep short term goals
As much as we have a long-term game plan for our careers, short term plans are important as well. Short term plans are the foundation for a clear and defined path to attain your long-term goal. Achieving short term goals will help you stay motivated on your path to your major career milestone
Building and maintain a career can be tiring. As Alfred Adler states that “It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them”, however but if you are disciplined and motivated enough you can overcome anything.