Finding your dream career

I asked a friend’s seven-year-old son what he wants to do when he’s older. He must be at the phase where he’s watching a lot of Ben 10 because he said he wants to be a superhero. I remember when we were younger the answers we gave were usually centered on teachers, doctors and even super spies. It just depends on what caught our fancy at a particular time.

As we grew up though, we identified what our interests and passions were then continued to transition our dreams until we knew what directions we wanted our careers to follow. Further along the line still, most of us traded in our dream careers for what we thought made sense and would put food on the table.

Very few people who have artsy tendencies follow what their heart really wants, they tend to do it as a side job because for some reason, it does not fall within a prescribed set of careers for productive members of society. How then though, if you are rediscovering your ‘inner career’ do you successfully navigate this minefield?

Don’t get stuck

There are many reasons why we get stuck, and they revolve around both external and internal noise. You need to deliberately deal with the internal mindsets and self-limiting beliefs in order to make progress. Usually, we know what we need to do to build a more fulfilling career but stop short of doing it. Work with a mentor or friend; someone who can be an accountability partner and who can hold you to the goals you say you’re going to tackle.

Believe

Believe in yourself. You have what it takes to start the journey; no one has everything that it takes at the beginning of an important journey, but you acquire it by taking the action and learning as you go along. In the same way, weed out the excuses from legitimate reasons and stop making the former. Having a concrete plan backed with research will help you avoid most risks that stop you from moving forward with a dream, as will well calculated steps.

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