I remember the dark days of sitting at my cube typing away at what seemed like an endless supply of busywork. Nothing was fulfilling. Nothing was helping me feel like I was doing anything useful in life. And nothing was motivating me to continue on with fervor. What was I to do?
When I say ashes I mean ASHES!
Sometimes we can all feel like we’re stuck in the same old career path. But I’m here to tell you that it is a mindset and a set of limiting beliefs that you need to bust to help empower you to the success that you want.
So, stick with me here, as we go through the five hot reasons to burn your current career plan to ashes.
1. To Better Your Financial Goals
You know that you want more out of life. But have you made them into goals that you can look at and actually feel? If you know that in some point in time you want to have enough money to be able to take two vacations a year, buy a new pair of shoes every year, and maybe be able to go out to eat once or twice a week, you can turn that into a number.
Do that now. Go out your piece of paper, write down what you estimate the cost of those things will be and put that as a bottom line number. Add that to what you make now and you’ll have a targeted goal of what you want to achieve within the next couple of years.
Don’t stop there. Keep aiming higher. But this is a way to put a number to a feeling. And a number is something you can shoot for.
2. To Feel Happier About What You Do
Changing your current career plan into something that you really want to do is all about building internal motivation. If you don’t have a reason Ã?¢â,¬’ and I’m talking a real driving and powerful reason Ã?¢â,¬’ to get up in the morning and do stuff for other people, you won’t survive.
Humans want to achieve and feel needed. We have a hierarchy of needs that must be fulfilled. If we aren’t looking out for ourselves first so that we can help other people better, we won’t be where we need to be.
So, know that you can feel happier by changing your mind to make what you do all that more meaningful for you.
3. To Get Health Benefits From A Switch
If you work in a non-salaried position or you’re at a company that’s too small to have great benefits, then you’re probably paying way too much. Now, this isn’t just about money and the fact that you could be getting more out of your paycheck by being at a company with better insurance. This is you getting better service and coverage for actual medical and health needs.
Not all plans are created equal. Some are just that much better than others. It could be worth looking around, especially if you have kids.
4. To Have More Job Opportunities
Being stuck in a gigantic matrix organization could be a good thing or a bad thing.
If you haven’t been there that long and don’t know that many people, you probably won’t be able to get that far into the organization. If you’re looking for the ability to try different positions in lateral openings to get a greater exposure for what’s available, you might have to go somewhere else. Keep this in mind when it comes to what you really want out of your career goals.
5. To Help Make A Difference In The World
At the tiptop of all of our dreams and hopes and wishes, is to make a useful impact on the world. Some positions don’t have a direct connection to this, and it could be hard to feel like you make a difference.
I want to give you a little secret. No matter what you do, you’re always helping your family or helping someone out in some aspect of their life, even if that’s only giving them a smile and telling them something nice when they’re having a bad day.
The point is, no matter what you’re doing, you could be providing value to the world. But if you have to be much closer to the output, like a volunteer organization, then that’s where you need to head.
Is Your Career Plan Burning Up, Yet?
Your career plan is probably not right where you want it to be as far as it comes to your financial goals, your happiness, your health benefits, your opportunities, and your impact on the world.
Refocusing where you’re going and what goals you want to achieve is the only way you’ll be at a different spot than you are today. Stop doing the same thing you’ve been doing all your life. It’s time to try something different and learn from the results.