The “What-career-would-suit-me” question carries a lot of wisdom in itself, because it acknowledges the fact that some careers WON’T be the right fit for you.
Ask anyone who’s ever felt trapped in a soul sucking job and they will confirm you that some careers choices will lead you to disappointment and frustration.
But how do you find the careers that would suit you like a glove?
In this article, I’ll share with you the 3 critical factors you need to keep in mind when evaluating any potential career path.
I’ll tell you exactly how to do that in a moment, but first let me explain what these 3 factors are.
The 3 Critical Factors for a fulfilling career
(Would you rather listen? You can do it by clicking the player below)
Key #1: “The FULFILLMENT factor”
Researchers have found that we feel the most satisfied with our work, when we are using our natural talents to the fullest. That happens when we are facing a challenge that stretches us to the limits of our capacities, while at the same time it’s something we can achieve.
When those two things happen, we enter a pleasurable state of the mind called FLOW.
On the contrary, when you’re forced to act outside of your genius zone most of your working time, you’ll not only feel exhausted, but if you maintain it for too long, it will finally lead you to burnout.
Key #2: “The FUN factor”
A high percentage of work frustration is due to a mismatch between what people enjoy doing and the tasks they are forced to perform in that job.
When you enjoy the things you do, not only you feel intrinsically motivated to do them, you also want to get better at them.
But the sad reality is that such a perfect match between motivating activities and work tasks isn’t as present as it would be desirable.
Key #3: “The FREEDOM factor”
Let me ask you a question: What’s the point of you doing what you love, if it forces you to have an awful life?
Exactly.
And that’s why this third factor is critical when you are evaluating if a career will suit you or not. But most people don’t take it into consideration!
For some of us, our ideal lifestyle is having a comfortable job with lots of free time outside of it, that allows us to pursue our many other interests.
For some of us, it’s all about having the freedom and flexibility to do what we want whenever we want.
So as you can see, your ideal lifestyle will be different than mine, and that’s ok. But you have to take it into consideration as part of your career change process.
So, how can you put these ideas into action? Here is my coaching tip for you:
CHARO’S COACHING TIP
Step 1) Make a list of all the potential career paths you feel intrigued by or excited about exploring. Rate each of them on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is “Not at all” and 10 It’s “An absolute YES!” using the 3 Fulfillment-fun-and freedom scale below:
- Will I be using my natural talents and strengths? (fulfilment factor)
- Will I be engaged in activities I enjoy doing? (fun factor)
- Will it allow me to have the kind of lifestyle I want? (freedom factor)
(NOTE: If you can not come up with a list of careers that you think could make you happy, then that’s your first step. You can use my Career Clarity Cards to help you figure out what it is you want to be doing with your life.
Get your free access to the cards by visiting: http://www.tappingyourpurpose.com/freestuff/careerclaritycards/
Step 2) Once you’ve evaluated all those careers, put a mark next to those who have scored 8 or higher in each of these factors: those are the careers that have the potential to really suit you.
Step 3) Create what I call a “Real Life Experiment” to explore those potential careers path a bit more in depth, thus validating your ideas with reality.
Resources shared in this article:
If you need help to write the list of potentially fulfilling careers, you can use my Career Clarity Cards for free. Go grab them here: https://www.tappingyourpurpose.com/freestuff/careerclaritycards/
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Thanks 🙂
Charo