The majority of us have never been given the tools to figure out one of the most important questions we could ever ask ourselves, which is,“who am I and what do I want to do with my life?” The good news is that it is never too late to align your career with your life choices.
We all seek meaning and alignment in our lives. This can look different for different people, depending on their unique interests and abilities. If there is misalignment with career and life choices people are apt to feel miserable, which will impact the work produced, negatively affect the people around you, and even lead to becoming physically ill. Since the majority of weekday waking hours are spent working it should be a priority to enjoy your work. Finding the unique right fit for your life and work is key to living a vibrant, fulfilled and happy life.
To uncover the best job fit, you first need to understand the key attributes that make you distinctly who you are. The more awareness you have of yourself, the more ability to properly discern and analyse best career options. As you uncover each layer of who you are and what is important to you, you create filtering mechanisms. The deeper your self-understanding, the more power you have to allow in only opportunities that are most closely aligned with who you are and filter out career options that are out of sync with your core attributes and interests. Knowing your personal indicators for living a fulfilled life will place you on the path towards the right goals, and you will spend less energy and time on mismatched targets.
It is also important to take into consideration that the world we live in and each of us individually are intricate and constantly shifting. The core of who you are typically remains constant, but as you gain new perspectives and skills, or when experience shifts in your personal life, these variables can influence your career choices. It is also worth noting that as the future of work reveals itself, there will be different types of opportunities and jobs created that never existed before. Understanding the foundation of who you are serves as a framework, providing structure and tools to use when considering future career or life changes. Knowing who you are allows you to adapt more easily to new situations. You can choose to revisit this framework at any time.
Some people stick with one career their entire life. Others will experience a handful (or a couple handfuls) of careers. Whether you have one career or many, both can lead to a fulfilling life. Putting in the work to get to better know yourself will gift you the lifetime guaranteed tools to be able to help you avoid not stumbling into the wrong profession or making misguided personal decisions. Like with any other tool, if you leave it in the toolbox it won’t work. However, if you use the tool you will be in the driver's seat of your career path and personal life, living with more ease and congruence.
