Many people are still trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up. See eight steps to finding and creating work you love.
We may have good jobs and nice paychecks, but we are not happy with our work. We daydream about the “what ifs” in our lives and long for the chance to discover and explore the job of our dreams.
Finding and Creating Work You Love
Identifying your dream job and the path that will lead you there is both a challenge and an opportunity.
But by following a realistic, step-by-step “finding and creating work” process, you can pursue your interests and passions for the job of your dreams.
1. Define Your Dream Job(s)
What are your passions and your interests? What activities give you a sense of satisfaction and purpose? Can you imagine yourself in a job that completely engages your mind and heart?
You may still be trying to find out what you want to be when you grow up. That’s okay. The “finding and creating work” process allows you to explore, experiment, and discover what your dream job is and how to pursue it.
2. Address Your Fears
Financial instability, family disruption, giving up an identity, and failing to innovate. These are all fears that can stand in the way of pursuing your dream job.
The biggest thing you can do to allay these fears is to meet them directly. Bring these deepest anxieties to light and examine them with reason; talk about that; and play each one out to its most irrational end. What's the worst that could happen?
3. Do Your Research
Research internally and externally to help you discover who you are and what kind of work aligns with your deepest self.
Do your homework and access resources ranging from the Internet to face-to-face contact with people on the job to determine what you think is your dream job.
4. Find a Mentor
Inspirational, experienced, realistic, forthcoming, and optimistic. A good mentor is all of these things and is eager to help someone else get started.
Recruiting an advisor who is a good match for you requires following a plan of action, asking the right questions, and building a mutually satisfying relationship.
Having a mentor is the crux of the vocational process. Whether you are 20 or more, 30 or more, 40 or more, 50 or more, or even 60 or more, you need a mentor!
5. Test Drive Your Dream Job
There's no more suitable way to learn than by doing. Testing out your dream job with a mentor provides hands-on experience that has the potential to change your life.
This is your opportunity to learn as much as possible about the job, how you go about day-to-day activities, and what it takes to be successful.
Does your mentorship prove that your so-called dream job is your dream job, or is it a reality check that reveals that the job is not one of your dreams?
The mentorship experience gives you the personal and professional due diligence you need before making a career decision.
6. Create an Action Plan
Pursuing a dream job is little more than a series of incremental steps that get you closer to your goal. To reach that goal, what is important is to make sure that the steps you are following are correct.
An action plan is needed. Compiling tasks and learning goals for your dream job is like forging a strategic roadmap, guiding your journey toward progress.
It serves as a practical plan, guiding your journey toward realizing your career aspirations. An informed action plan empowers you to move forward.
7. Establish Thresholds
One of the biggest reasons we pursue our dream jobs is to increase our life satisfaction. Knowing your threshold for challenge, risk, and uncertainty is crucial to maintaining life satisfaction amid the pursuit of your goals.
The finding and creating work process is as much about what you learn on the journey as the rewards when you reach your destination.
8. Think Big, Start Small
You don’t have to quit your 9:00 to 5:00 job to pursue your dream job. Compulsions and worries can lead you down a less-than-straight path.
It may take months, not weeks, years, not months. If you are patient and creative, you can advance your career. The finding and creating work process will get you from Point A to Point B.
In Conclusion
Finding and creating work that you love is a process that requires time, effort, and dedication.
It involves exploring your passions, identifying your strengths and weaknesses, researching and networking, building skills, and taking calculated risks.
While the journey may not always be easy, it can be rewarding. Fulfilling experience that can lead to a more satisfying and meaningful career.
Remember, it's never too late to start pursuing your dreams, so take action today and begin the journey toward a career you love.
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