Career,That,Matters,You,Asyou, DIY A Career That Matters To You

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Asyou consider how you can create your most fulfilling life, clarify your valuesfirst. When you’re clear about your values, the next step is to focus yourpassion for what you value on an opportunity to express it in a way that’s meaningfulto you. It’s human nature to wantto express your passion in a creative way, whether that means raising a familyor leading a country. You won’t feel fulfilled until you consciously have a place in your life where you’recreative. For some, the creative waythey express their passion is by raising children who know who they are, go forwhat they want, and treat others with respect and love. Others feel compelledto raise awareness about health or social issues affecting our society. Many people findinspiration in designing or inventing products. Some find fulfillmentoutdoors—planting vegetables, building roads, or walking dogs. Still others finddeep satisfaction writing books, cooking, or balancing budgets. All of these choicesare equally valid. No type of work is “better” than another. As you consider how to express your genius, the onlycriteria that matter are:• You feel fulfilled when you’re doing it• You feel in your gut that there’s something missing ifyou don’t do it. DoYou Gotta Work Like A Dog?There’sa common saying: do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in yourlife. People who aren’t doing what they love are frustrated by this saying. They’llquote a litany of reasons they can’t go for what they want. Underneath each ofthese reasons is a negative, limited thought about what work is supposed to belike.Doyou have any beliefs about work that are negative or limit your freedom toexpress yourself? Let’s dissect some of the most common beliefs about work. Doany of these sound familiar to you?•Work is supposed to be hard•It’s dishonest to get paid for doing something that’s easy or fun•You only deserve to be paid for sweating and struggling•If you want a higher salary, you must work harder, longer hours. Inour culture, these beliefs date back to the Mayflower. But they don’t have tobe true for you. There are fulfilled people in every walk of life who love whatthey do. Here’sanother common belief that can throw your life out of balance. Do you believethat your career has to take precedence over every other part of your life?Then try flipping the equation.Startby picturing your ideal life, then look for a career that will support it. Thisfundamental shift in thinking will change the way you view your life. You’ll have the power toown what you do with your life when you feel deeply sure of what you want. Onceyou are clear about the lifestyle you want, the possibilities for creating thatlifestyle are infinite. Thereisn’t one way that’s better or more significant than another. A lot of energy is wastedin thinking that “making a difference” and “contributing to the global society”are the only worthy aspirations one can have. Not true. The aspirationthat’s worthy of you is the one that feels most relevant to you. It’sNot About Job Titles AnymoreLet’sconnect your genius and talents to the current state of the job market. As youconsider your career options and opportunities, it’s important to avoid thetrap of thinking that there’s only one job that will fulfill you for the restof your life, and you can’t make a move until you’re certain you’ve found it. Remember,your career will evolve during your lifetime. And like every other part of yourevolution, you can’t know today how you’re going to respond to each and everysituation that will occur in the next 30 years. Work that seems exciting todaymight bore you to bits a few years down the road. Insteadof locking yourself into one career path, set yourself free to explore,discover, learn and grow.Currentestimates are that today’s college grads will have an average of four differentcareers with more than a dozen employers. In response, we are shifting ourstrategy of framing career by skills rather than job titles. Yourcareer path has becomes a process of choosing positions where you can learn orenhance a skill as part of a skill set that serves you over the long haul. Forexample, in my previous career of broadcasting, I learned how to work with themedia and how to be poised in front of a camera. From another career in speechpathology, I learned aspects of running my own business, how to convey complexinformation in layman’s terms (one of my genius talents), and how to feelcomfortable speaking in front of a crowd.  Ialso used my prior book editing experience (another of my genius talents) whenI wrote the book I recently published. And although I didn’t recognize theconnection at the time, all of these skills serve me now as a life coach. ShiftingOut Of NeutralNowlet’s flesh out how you can begin to express more of your genius. Beginningtoday, think about one thing you can do each day that expresses your genius. Ifyou’re unclear about your genius, use your best guess of what your genius mightbe. Butwhere—and how—to start? Thekey to creating a more fulfilling life is to get the momentum going. But to do that, you’ll have to break out of yourset patterns and do something different. Yousee, we humans are creatures of habit. The upside of routines is that they helpus get things done quickly. However, habitual routines have a serious downside.Your habits can cause you to get stuck in one way of thinking and acting. Soan easy way to pop out of neutral gear is to break a routine pattern.Youcan very effectively break out of your habitual patterns by doing something,literally anythingthat’s different from your routine.It doesn’t even have to be related to work. Infact, it’s easier to do something that’s as far from work as possible. Here aresome easy, yet effective ways to break your routine:•Eat something for dinner that you’ve never eaten before•At breakfast, hold your spoon (or fork) in your non-dominant hand•Take the stairs instead of the elevator•Read a book from a section of the library you haven’t previously visited •Listen to a type of music you haven’t heard before•Move your wallet or keys to a different pocket•Move a photo from one side of your desk to the other.Thepoint is that anydifference will stimulate your brain to look for more different things. You’ll immediately be more alert to yoursurroundings. This is critical. As you continually scan your internal andexternal environments, you’ll notice new ideas and opportunities for expressingyour genius. Asyou begin to express your genius, it’s wise to start small. Again, startanywhere—with yourself, your family or your community. When you’re ready to domore, find ways to incorporate it into your daily life, then investigate how tomake money with it.Keep moving in the generaldirection of expressing your unique genius in your own style. You’ll get there,in your own time.