Feeling unfulfilled in your career? Here's what to do next
Posted on December 11, 2014 by Sandra Kay Scheschuk , One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
Your career can be a lot more fulfilling if you dare to ask yourself the right questions and have the stillness and courage to hear the answers.
One common issue that clients come to me for is that they suddenly feel unenthusiastic and unfulfilled about their chosen career path, even if they’ve been fairly successful in it. When people reach a point of success in their chosen careers but it fails to bring them the fulfillment they were hoping for, they often ask themselves – “is this all there is?”
When this reaction occurs, it is likely because they have chosen their career based on practicality or what would impress friends, family or society, rather than what their authentic self truly desired. As in Maslow’s hierarchy, survival comes way before self-actualization, so in the first years on this path one might not necessarily be thinking about how unfulfilled they are, but rather focused on driving their career forward so they can make more money, be more successful, in order to “survive.” However, once they have been at this path for awhile and survival needs have consistently been met, the unfulfilled feeling starts to creep in.
Another possible scenario to explain this situation is that their current career path was the right thing at one time, but they have now outgrown it.
Either way, the suddenly flat feeling towards their career is a sign that it’s time to do some internal exploration.
Are you feeling the same way?
If so, in your internal exploration, you will want to start noticing what things do light you up or make you feel enthusiastic as well as noticing the types of things that do the opposite. Ask yourself deep questions, such as:
What would I do with my life if I had all the money I wanted?
What am I passionate about? (topics, hobbies, etc.)
What would I do with my life if I could not fail?
What contributions do I want to give to the world?
What do you feel that the world needs from you?
More beauty? More healing? More protection? More Entertainment? More humor? Etc.
What problem with people, society, or the earth do I want to help solve/relieve?
What do I want to be known for?
What unique gifts, talents, skills do friends and family say I have?
After you’ve answered questions like these, notice if there is a theme. It’s best to define your purpose/personal mission statement in a high-concept way such as:
“I want to ease suffering among women,” or “I want to empower people to dream big” or “I want to protect those who cannot defend themselves,” or “I want to create inspiring environments for others.” As you can see, these are broader statements that a variety of careers could fit into. There are thousands of ways to pursue any one purpose or mission, so it’s best not to narrowly define it with a career title.
From there, start brainstorming ways that you can integrate that purpose into your life as it is now. How might you integrate this into your current job? What can you do on the side to explore these passions? What careers or entrepreneurial paths might incorporate this purpose? Talk to your friends, search Google, or refer to career guides to help you find more information.
As you begin to think about an inspiring new future, your reptilian brain (the side of your brain that is primarily concerned with survival) will try to scare you out of making changes, so you’ll have to go slow. Don’t let it tell you that you have to make huge leaps (all or nothing mentality) in order to follow your passion or that the paths you are thinking of are too risky. You can easily do things on the side of your day job that may put you on the path to a more inspiring future. Perhaps these things on the side will stay on the side, perhaps they will just be hobbies, or maybe they will one day become your full time career. A lot of my clients have a lingering sub-conscious fantasy about a career they’d love to do, but they don’t even let themselves think about it consciously because they have the belief that it is too risky, too hard, or won’t make enough money. Keep in mind that new careers are developing all the time and entrepreneurial paths allow you to create your own career.
If you find yourself in this situation, I’d love to help. Helping you explore your passions and strengths, dissolving limiting thoughts, and brainstorming new ideas is my passion!
