How to fall in love with your career

This is one of a series of articles discussing the 9 key elements you need to focus on to get complete career confidence.

The day that I figured out my purpose, the day that I realised what work brought me joy, the day that I understood what it means to be ‘in flow’, that’s the day I fell in love with my career.

In sickness and in health.

For better, for worse.

We spend a lot of our time ‘at work’.

So it doesn’t make sense to be doing work that you don’t love, or work that doesn’t bring you joy.

As a career coach, there’s nothing more frustrating than to hear you talk about how you hate your job or how it’s all so boring or how you’re not being challenged enough.

I love the work that I do. Absolutely love it.

But it wasn’t always like that.

And in fact, for a long time, even though I knew what work brought me most joy, I carried on doing the work that didn’t bring me joy.

Like that’s crazy, right.

Why purpose is so important

When you understand your purpose, you get to do work you love. It’s as simple as that.

Purpose is one of the 9 elements you need to focus on to get complete career confidence. (Previous blog posts have explored Ambition and Contribution).

How clear are you on your purpose in the world?

Do you know when you are most ‘in flow’?

When you do the work that brings you joy? That you could do endlessly effortlessly.

Understand your purpose, and your inner belief and confidence will grow beyond belief.

That confidence then radiates from you. Your energy shines through. Work becomes effortless and joyful.

When you work to your purpose, you work ‘in flow’. You feel happy. You feel in control. You lose track of time. You do your very best work.

And when you do your very best work, you get noticed. You make a bigger impact. And you get promoted.

Have you figured out your purpose yet?

To understand your purpose, you need to identify how you engage in the world, what your attention is focussed on, who is directly affected, and the intended impact.

We spend lots of time on purpose in my Complete Career Confidence accelerator programme. Check it out HERE.

How find your purpose and fall in love with your career

To fall in love with your career, you need to figure out your purpose. Here’s a summary of what I teach in my career accelerator programme:

• Think of at least four different experiences that were fulfilling for you. Times that you were fully expressing yourself. When you felt joy. What you did was effortless, totally in the moment, very much ‘in flow’.
• Identify what was special and unique about those experiences. What were you doing? Who else was there? What were you feeling? What was meaningful for you? What did you bring to the situation that few others could have?

If you’re intrigued, check out my Complete Career Confidence accelerator programme. Purpose is one of the 9 elements that you need to focus on to get ahead in your career. Identify your purpose (then pursue that purpose), and you’ll be on the right track to fall in love with your career.

Pop a note in the comments. I’d love to hear how you get on. And in the next article in this series, we’ll explore your Success Mindset.

p.s. Complete Career Confidence starts again Monday 18 May and when you sign up before 14 May you get 50% discount as well as £346 of Early Bird bonuses.