Last month we did a quick career check in/check up. Hopefully you've had a chance to answer the questions posed. I've cut and pasted them below and re-ordered them around next steps to take/further questions to ask yourself.
Further Reflection: Does this feel like a coaching session yet?
- What is your relationship with your career?
Based on the answer to this question, ask yourself the following two questions:
1.) Is my relationship with my career serving me and my life goals?
2.) What changes would I like to make to my relationship with my career?
- What expectations do you have of your career?
Based on the answer to this question, ask yourself the following three questions:
1.) Are my expectations of my career realistic based on my current life circumstances?
2.) Are they aligned with my life goals?
3.) If not (to both), what adjustments do I need to make?
- On a scale of 1-5, how happy are you with your career?
For those of you who scored a happy high score of 4 or better--congrats! Enjoy this career bliss and take care to maintain it.
For those of you who scored a 3 or below, ask yourself the following question:
1.) What steps would I need to take to improve this score?
The Big Dig: Take your answers from above as well as your answers to the following questions, and see if you can drill them down farther to come up with some specifics. To do so, think of going back to what you learned in kindergarten and answer: who, what, when, where, why & how? For example, who would I need to involve; what specific steps do I need to take; when would I need to start/be done by; where would I start; why is this even important; and how am I going to accomplish all of it?
- What direction would you ultimately like to see your career take?
-What dreams have you given up/are not actively pursuing regarding your career?
If you can start to answer the questions above, you, my friends, will have the makings of a solid career plan to follow for the rest of the year. Now, plans are important to reach your goals. They are, however, limited without proper motivation. You'll want to check in on how motivated you are to implement your new sparkly career plan. Here's a quick exercise:
Want vs. Willing: One a scale of 1-10, rate yourself on the following two questions:
1.) How much do you want this goal?
2.) How willing are you to do the things you'd need to do to be successful at this goal?
If you're like most people, your "want" score is probably pretty high--maybe even as high as 9 or 10. Unfortunately, your willing score is probably somewhat lower--maybe a 4 or 5. Not to worry though, I've dubbed March "Motivation Month" so stay tuned for ways you can boost your willing score. For now, simply continue to reflect on your answers to these questions, your new career plan and the difference between your want and willing score.
