What Are Your Criteria For Your Ideal Work?

I happen with many people that when they are looking for a alteration of way in their career, or they experience 'stuck in a rut', they pick random thoughts for occupations or callings without really recognising and prioritising their personal criteria (values) for their ideal work. Often the ground people are unhappy in their current work is that some of their peak criteria are actually missing or be at a very low level.

What make I intend by criteria, well these are the things that are of import to you, they are an look of who you are and they are usually abstract and may include values such as as - helping people, flexibility, working in a team, money, location, relaxed culture, size of company or being originative - your ain listing may include some of these asset others that are personal to you. When I work with clients, one of the first things I make is to assist them place and prioritise their core and work values, and from here it goes easier to place whether a peculiar job, company or community will carry through your personal criteria. For illustration person who places 'working in a team' as one of their peak criteria, but is currently working alone sat in presence of a personal computer all day, will likely experience adrift, dissociated and unfulfilled.

It's also utile to retrieve that values are linguistic context specific, so you may well have got a totally different (and sometimes conflicting) set of values for things such as as wellness or relationships. When I discovered my ain core values I realised immediately why I hated working for person else and why now I love running my ain business!

Jenny Littlejohn

What You Need to Know About Dreams that Stalk You - How They Can Lead You to Your Best Career Change

Donna has been telling people for years that she wants to start her own business. She has dreamed about it since she was in high school but instead of taking steps towards following her dream, she has spent her days in the corporate world. When asked, Donna will say she doesn't know what she wants to do for a career. All she knows is that she is burned out with what she is doing. Yet, everyone around her knows the dream that has been following her – the dream of being her own boss.

Many of us have dreams that are following us around while we desperately try to ignore them! Think for a minute. Have you heard yourself saying things like..."I'd love to turn this hobby into a career but..." or "I've always wanted to be my own boss but..." or "What I really wanted to do was _______ but now it is too late." ? If this sounds like you then it is time to turn around and look those dreams right in the face. They hold clues to what your passion-filled career change can be.

What keeps us running from our dreams? One of the most common reasons I have seen as a Life Coach is that we think it is too late to live a dream. Most of the time that is absolutely false! We give up on our dreams way too fast. I remember reading about a woman who always dreamed of being a doctor. She was 60 years old when she went back to college to pursue that dream. Many people asked her, "Do you realize that you will be almost 70 years old by the time you get out of school and begin your career?" Her answer was always, "I can be 70 and a doctor or 70 and not a doctor. Either way I'll turn 70. I would much rather be 70 and a doctor!" She went on to achieve her MD and is still enjoying her thriving career. Are you giving up too soon?

I'll admit (although reluctantly) that sometimes it might be too late to accomplish certain dreams. For example becoming a professional athlete in your 60's might not happen. Although I really hate to say that because of a man called Banana George. He begin barefooting at the age of 46. He now holds 4 world records and is a professional barefooter. To top that off when George turned 75 he learned how to snowboard! Be very careful before you decide your dream is "impossible"! But if you really, really believe that the dream you have is impossible for you to reach then take a look at the essence of your dream. What is it that you wanted most from it? If you wanted to be a professional dancer then what attracted you to that career? Was it the movement? If so you can have a career around movement . Was it the music? Was it the thrill of performing on stage? The challenge of mastering something and being known for it? Whatever you loved about that dream you can have in many different careers. Take the essence of that dream and find a career to meet that essence.

The next time you hear yourself saying, "I have no idea what I am passionate about or what I want to do for a career change." take a quick peek behind you. Do you have a dream that is stalking you? If you do look it in the eye and start taking it seriously. I have been amazed over and over again at how well those clingy dreams lead people to exciting, passionate, and meaningful careers!

Career Joy - Step Three in Aligning Body, Mind, and Work

Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
- William Shakespeare

Step Three to Achieving Career Joy - Take Inventory

Now that you have spent some time living with the idea that you deserve more out of your job and your career and you committed to giving yourself some time each week to go back to the things you love, you are ready for the next step. Step number three is to take inventory.

Sometimes just the idea of making a change is scary and when you feel overwhelmed it is easy to forget all of the little pieces that could actually make this possible. Fear creates doubt and it clouds your vision so much that you can't see what you have done and even more importantly what you are capable of. Completing an inventory will help you get clear on the state of your life right now and what you need to do to get it where you want to be.

So, I suggest creating an inventory of the 7 key areas of your life: physical, mental, spiritual, social, financial, career, and family/relationships.

The following are some questions to help guide you:

1. On a scale of 1-10 how happy are you with this aspect of your life?

2. What are some recent successes you have had in this area of your life?

3. What have you struggled with in this area of your life?

4. If you could wave a realistic magic wand, how would you like this area of your life to be? How would you want it to feel? To Look?

5. What do you think has gotten in the way or is getting in the way of you getting everything you want in this area of your life?

6. Do you have any sort of plan to get you what you want?

7. How would you feel if you had this aspect of your life exactly how you wanted it?

8. How will you feel if you are in the same position with it 3 months from now? 6 months? a year?

9. What is it worth to you to get everything you want?

10. What support systems are in place to help you get there? If you can't identify one, what could you do to find one?

That should be a start and if you really pay attention, it will take you quite a while to complete your inventory. But, you will be amazed at how much you will learn about yourself if you take the time to do it and how much closer you will feel toward achieving your joy by the time you are finished. Stay tuned next week for step four.