At some point in your life, you will probably be in a job that you don’t exactly have a passion for. Your career may not be what you expected or imagined, but are you doomed to settle?
You go to school, get your degree and land a job. It doesn’t take you long to realize that this isn’t what you dreamed of or imagined yourself doing. Someone says, “Hey, how are you doing?,” and you respond, “Living the dream…”
Maybe you’ve been in the workforce for years and settled on a job or career. You likely remain where you are for very legitimate reasons – the money, family responsibilities, fear of giving up what you know and are used to. The list can go on.
So what can you do?
You want to pursue your dream job but you stay put and convince yourself that feeling stuck is just inevitable. Perhaps you fear you’ll end up in a worse position or the fear of failing convinces you that it’s too risky. Or worse – you may believe you don’t deserve to pursue your dream job.
But…there may be another way to look at this.
Think about what you love, what motivates you. What tendencies did you have when you were growing up? What were you drawn to as a child?
You may have the opportunity to do what you love in the job you’re in right now. Perhaps your dream career is not as out of reach as you thought. Perhaps you don’t need to start over.
Here are some steps you can take to live your dream right where you are.
#1 Take a hard look at your current job and ask yourself:
Are you really using all of your talents? Can you incorporate what you love and what motivates you into your current role? Would a similar role allow you to do the things you love best?
#2 Make an action list
After you’ve answered the questions from #1 (and be honest!), you must take action!
Talk to your boss about how you can incorporate more of what you love into your current role. Think not just how it would benefit you, but how it would benefit your organization – what talents and value do you bring? Be specific and prepared.
Look for other roles that spark your interest, ones which call for the skills you possess. Network within your company. In this way you would not have to make a drastic move to incorporate more of what you love.
If you have reservations about taking action, it’s important to ask yourself why. If it is simply complacency, then make sure you are okay with the result of inaction.
Remember: Fear is a roadblock. It may be time to clear your path and move forward.
When you do what you love, you give the world something only YOU can offer. This may mean it’s time to make a drastic change; but more likely, with just a few tweaks, your dream job might be closer than you think.
