How often have you wondered why success has eluded you despite having done everything possible to succeed in your career? Putting in your best should result in the best yet it hasn’t. Are there any leaking buckets that are preventing you from achieving what you truly deserve? There are many parameters but we will start with a few. I’ll help you with assessing them, for yourself. It will help you put things on track:
1. Find your purpose
If the purpose of your career is not aligned with the bigger purpose of your life, this is one leaking bucket. However, it does not mean you cannot have multiple purposes in your life. As long as you can negotiate with multiple tracks in your life, you are sorted. Why are you pursuing your career? Paying bills is a serious reason but that makes it a job. You can not be inspired or satisfied with just a job.
You need a career to pursue that helps you achieve at least one purpose in your life. Once you figure out the purpose of your career, map it to your current role and the work that you are doing. If it is in line with your purpose you are doing well. If it is not, ask what do you need to change? Your surroundings, your circumstances, or yourself. The change has to be such which aligns you and your work with your career purpose.
You might have heard before that changing yourself is easier than changing others as you don’t have any control over them. True, however, here we are talking about your purpose. If you are at a place, which no way aligns with your purpose, you won’t achieve much even after changing yourself. You will have to change your surroundings. For example, if you are stuck in a 9-5 job but you want to make it big in performing arts, you will have to change your surroundings fully or partially.
2. Identify your Interests
Now that you have understood that the work you do has to be aligned to your purpose, you should also be enjoying it. If it feels like a drudgery just because you have a purpose to achieve, again it is not worth it. The journey should be as wonderful as the destination or even better. You will also realise that even before reaching the desired destination, your new purpose would already be calling you. The destination will keep changing so will your journeys.
Would you not like to make your journeys special? How about your interests? Lucky are those people who are able to convert their interests into their careers. You would have heard them saying that work feels like a breeze and never the work per se.
Ask yourself what did you want to become as a child? Are you still excited about that? What does it take to follow that dream? Consider yourself fortunate if you are already doing something that interests you.
3. Your company
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn
Just look at your life’s journey. Do you remember who you spent time with in your school days? If anyone in that group went a bit ahead in terms of worldly achievements while achieving her purpose, was that person able to meet the rest at the same frequency as before? The obvious answer is, no.
It is not necessary that the person changed, it simply means that she had to change the company of the average five people who they had to spend time with. Don’t forget the old adage that a man is known by the company he keeps. You have to surround yourself with people who inspire you, who celebrate your success and ever help you to succeed.
Are you ready to try your hand at these three?