My Career: What I Don’t Want

I checked in with a former client who shared a major shift she went through career-wise. She gave up working in the private sector, took a significant pay cut, and traded a long commute for short one. She’s working near her children’s school and has job security. She finally feels like she has a strong balance in her life, and feels happy and grateful.

The most striking part of her message was this:

“Once I figured what I didn't want, ironically everything fell into place.”

This sounds so incredibly obvious but it is something we shy away from thinking about. We’re always talking about desires, needs, wants, and feeling the need to be positive. 

Sure, there are things you can’t avoid. We all need to earn a living! But with the flexibility of options and work increasing, there are more ways to make your job work for you. 

As Marie Kondo would say, “Does this bring you joy?”

Here are 4 questions to get you started:

• What tasks am I doing at work each day that I do not enjoy?

• Are there companies and/or industries that I would never want to work for?

• What is the longest commute I’d be willing to make?

• What is the lowest salary I could take?

This will give you insight into what you don’t want, clearing the air to help you focus on finding what you DO want.

Photo credit: Jason Leung