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Millions of
people spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, doing work they
dislike, are bored by or do not believe in. A few take control of
their lives and begin doing something which they feel passionate
about and which makes them leap out of bed in the morning. How do
you take that giant step? I've done it - and I've never been
happier. Read my Top Ten tips for a working life which has 'smile'
written all over it.
1. Write
down ten things that are important to you about your working life.
What do you
need to feel on a Monday morning as you anticipate the week ahead?
What do you need to feel on a Friday evening as the working week
ends? Do you want to work with people in a team, or independently?
Where will your satisfaction come from? Do you have any skills you
want to use? Do you have any skills you want to learn? How much do
you need to earn? What sort of working environment do you want? Do
you want scope for creativity and innovation? Or do you prefer to
follow routines?
2. Write
down the one thing that stands out from the other nine as the most
important.
What really
fires you up? What would get you really excited about going to
work? These are the things you need to focus on: they are what
will give you the inner satisfaction and fulfillment you are
looking for in your working life, and what will give you a
positive, confident approach to the whole of the rest of your
life.
3. Score
each of your ten points from 1 (least important) to 10 (most
important).
By the time
you've scored each of your points, you'll be able to draw a
picture of the things that are most important to you in the work
you want to do. Draw a graph marked 1-10 on one axis and with your
10 points on the other axis. Mark a dot to score each point, then
join the dots.
4. Now go
through the same process for the work you're doing at the moment,
and compare the two results.
This will
help to show you how fulfilled you are at the moment. If there's a
big difference, sit down and ask yourself how satisfied you would
be to continue your current work. How will you feel to be doing
the same work in ten years' time? If you get a feeling, or a
little voice saying to you, that what you're doing at the moment
isn't enough, you need to listen to it. If, on the other hand, you
feel totally fulfilled at the moment, great!
5. Go back
to the feeling you wrote down in point 1: summon up again what it
feels like to be totally fulfilled in your work.
Keep hold of
that feeling. How would it be to feel like that all the time, to
be suffused with that feeling? How much do you want that feeling?
6. Decide
whether you really want to change. Are you prepared to take a risk?
You may be
completely fulfilled at the moment. On the other hand, you may
not. Remember that if you always do what you've always done,
you'll always get what you've always got. Is what you have now
what you really want? Unless you are prepared to make changes,
nothing new will happen. No one else can do this for you. It won't
necessarily be easy and it may be risky. You need to understand
the risks and whether they are worth taking.
7.
Research.
Unless
you're exceptionally lucky, your ideal job isn't going to come
knocking on your door. You may know from point 1 what the job is
that you want. If you can only see its characteristics, but not
its title, you'll need to do some research to find out jobs that
match what is important to you. Your local library, career books
and the Internet can all help you.
8. List
your options.
Write a list
of up to ten jobs that match what is important to you.
9. Work out
the costs and benefits of each option.
What would
each option bring you? Include not only monetary rewards, but job
satisfaction, the impact on your family and social life, career
prospects, working environment and any other benefit you can think
of. Similarly what would each option cost you? What would you have
to give up, what extra resources would it take, how much time
would you have to put in? Include the risks and the worst-case
scenario – both of staying where you are and of changing career
direction.
10. Take
action.
So, are you
going to take control and design the life you want rather than
waiting for things to happen to you? Your first action might be to
make sure you have someone to talk to whom you trust and who only
wants what's best for you. That might be a parent, a spouse, a
brother or sister, a best friend or a coach. Someone who will
share your enthusiasm for fulfillment. Use them as much as you
need or as much as your relationship will allow (!).
When you've
completed point 9, write down a goal. Make it specific, timed and
realistic. Write down what you're going to do to reach that goal.
Do it. And keep in your mind and your soul the feeling of joy that
you're aiming for. Only you can make it happen.
About the
Submitter:
This piece was
originally submitted by Lindsay Wittenberg, BA (Honours) degree,
Certified Member of the Institute of Management Consultancy, Diploma
in Performance Coaching (Business), Advanced Diploma in Professional
Coaching and Mentoring Practice, Business and personal coach, who
can be reached at lw@lindsaywittenberg.co.uk, or visited on the
web.
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