Article originally posted at: http://www.levo.com/articles/career-advice/how-to-transition-into-a-more-fulfilling-and-exciting-career
Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned.
We start our careers, excited for the future and the wide open landscape before us. Our first jobs, once exciting in their newness, eventually became boring. The years slide by, and we realize that we can’t remember the last time we were happy or excited at work. We can’t even imagine going another few years like this, and yet we still do, saying “maybe next week/month/year I’ll do something about it.”
For a lot of people, this is life.
It takes a stretch of the imagination to picture a world where we love our jobs, jobs that challenge and motivate us. A world where we get to use all our skills, not just the same ones over and over—a world where we maximize our potential. Where we live and breathe our passions. Where we are appreciated for the work that we do and encouraged to grow and learn and take on new responsibilities.
Try to picture that world right now. Close your eyes, breath, and imagine waking up tomorrow morning so excited for the day ahead that you bounce out of bed the minute your alarm goes off.
When you open your eyes, how do you feel? Invigorated? Maybe even skeptical?
This kind of dream job is truly possible for you! It’s possible for you, your best friends, your coworkers. Everyone can have access to this world.
Here are four actionable steps you can take today to start achieving your dream job, regardless of your degree or professional background.
1. Realize that it’s OK when life doesn’t go as planned, in fact it’s better than OK—it’s an amazing opportunity.
Many of us picked our degrees and first jobs before we knew what we really wanted to do with our lives. That’s how our parents did it, and they ended up just fine, right?
But in this day and age, everything is fast paced and online. We’re hooked up to our social networks, we’re sending hundreds of texts a day, and we no longer get our news from the TV. The world has changed and is continuing to change. The land of opportunity, of career transitions and life fulfillment, is now available to each and every one of us.
It’s now totally possible to switch career paths entirely and work in new fields or industries. Tons of people do it—only 27 percent of college grads have a job related to their major.
I did it myself and transitioned from a career path in Human Resources to one in Technology. I can give personal testimonial to how much I love my work and what I do every day… and my job is unrelated to my degree or first professional experiences.
2. Confront your fears and stop getting stopped—focus on the Big Picture instead.
How often do you ask yourself what you really want out of life? Where you want to be in five years? What are your hopes, dreams, and fears?
It’s important to know the answers to these questions because they shape the Big Picture.
The Big Picture isn’t a wild crazy dream about how you wish life could look someday.
It’s a life of your own design. A design that you carefully crafted and cultivated.
It’s a life of your own design. A design that you carefully crafted and cultivated.
When you think about your fears with switching jobs or changing career paths:
“But I’m afraid I won’t follow through!”
“I don’t want to look unfocused!”
“I’m not one of those lucky people who always knew what they wanted to do!”
“I don’t want to look unfocused!”
“I’m not one of those lucky people who always knew what they wanted to do!”
Acknowledge those fears, but don’t listen to them. Stop letting yourself get stopped. Focus instead on your Big Picture and what actions you can make each day to have that Big Picture become your reality.
3. Distinguish your world as a series of choices, and suddenly you can choose anything you want.
Nobody is forcing you to stay in a job that you aren’t happy with. No one is dragging you out of bed every morning except yourself.
You have choice. Almost everything in your life is the result of choices you’ve made:
You chose the job you have.
You chose to keep showing up at that job every day.
You chose to let excuses get in the way of changing your circumstances.
Embrace the choices you’ve made. They got you where you are today!
You chose to keep showing up at that job every day.
You chose to let excuses get in the way of changing your circumstances.
Embrace the choices you’ve made. They got you where you are today!
Once you realize you have CHOICE, you take powerful ownership of your life. You start to choose different actions that get you different results.
4. Begin your transition with practical next steps.
Now that your head is in the right place and you’ve abolished fears, centered in on your Big Picture, and realized you can choose a new path… it’s time to take the practical next steps that will take you from the job you have now, to the job that you really want.
Download the 20-page eBook “How To Get A Job Doing What You Really Want To Do”—completely free for Be Moxie readers.
This guide gives you practical next steps for getting a job in a totally new field, without a related degree—and they are all steps that you can start taking now, without leaving the security of your full time job until you are ready to make the leap.
Now go forth, and begin your transition into a more exciting and fulfilling career!!
This was originally posted on BeMoxie.org.
Photo: Amanda Mabel Photography / Getty Images