For those of us changing careers in midlife, choosing our next career path feels like we are making the ULTIMATE decision.
We are well aware of the time, effort and money we devoted in our younger years to become an expert on the field that is no longer fulfilling for us.
So if you ask me, “Is there anything worst than staying in a meaningless job?”
I’d say:
Yes! It is.
The worst thing that can happen.
Imagine making a career change, with all tha hussle involved, only to find yourself in a different career but suffering from the same level of dissatisfaction and frustration that you had in your previous job.
Can there be something more painful than that?
(Well, now that I think of it, being unable to get paid for doing what you love isn’t fun at all either, but I’ll leave that topic for a future article I promise)
So it’s just common sense to diminish as much as possible, the risk of making a career change mistake, don’t you agree?
It’s true that you’ll never be 100 % certain until you get actively involved in a career, but you can be pretty sure that you’ll enjoy a career path if it meets these 4 criteria:
The 4 key elements of a fulfilling career path.
- Fits your personality
Your idea career or business path is such that allows you to use your natural talents and stregths. It is also in integrity with your values and your natural mental wiring: in other words, how you prefer to make decisions and relate to the world. - Engages your passion
You get to spend time doing what you enjoy. And it’s related to a field that you are passionate about or very interested in. - Solve a meaningful problem
This career or business path allows you to contribute to the solution of something you truly care about and it’s important to you, where you absolutely know you are making a difference in the lives of others. - You get paid for doing it.
You could have the other 3 elements and still be fulfilled, have a sense of contribution and meaning.
But until you get paid for doing it, you can never call this a career or a business. It will only be a very meaningful hobby.
And its’ perfectly ok if that is what you want, but if you need to sustain yourself or your family financially with what you do, then you need to make sure you get paid for doing it.
The inner and outer journey to finding your ideal career
As you can see from the list above, two of those elements can only be found when you look inside of yourself, and the other two are related to the outside world.
But everything starts by looking inside of yourself, at your natural talents, strenghts and your passions. And doing that on your own can be tricky, that’s why I’ve created a tool to help you get started: the Career Clarity Cards.
I invite you to get your Free Access by visiting http://www.tappingyourpurpose.com/freestuff/careerclaritycards/