What makes a conscious career choice?

Three little questions that can guide your decision.

Today I want to share some questions I ask myself and my clients to make more conscious decisions.

Sometimes, the need we are trying to fulfill with work cannot be fulfilled by work.

Looking at your life, you might identify that the change you seek lies elsewhere. Identifying this on time saves you a lot of trouble and disappointment.A big part of my work is enabling people to make the most conscious decision when facing a choice. Decisions often imply significant changes and have a great impact on their lives.?

These questions help create clarity but require bravery and radical honesty with yourself.

Are you running away from or running towards?

It often happens when facing career choices to confuse the relief of ending the current situation with the excitement about the next thing. We can be crafty in finding reasons, building narratives, and creating expectations of a possible way out of a situation we are not too happy about. There’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s a big difference between running toward and away from something.

Sometimes people come up with many reasons why the next job is so incredible and unique, feeling pretty secure about it. But like fog dissipating on a misty morning, the question “Are you running away from or towards to?” shows that there might be hidden emotions and motivations that we are not totally aware of or honest about. Maybe we are running away.

Why is this important? By running away from and illuding ourselves that is what we want, we might end up again in a situation we don’t like and we could have avoided.

The difference in feelings can be very subtle; awareness can only be achieved by radical honesty.

Which problems do you want?

There will always be problems, no escape from that. As we face new career possibilities, we focus on the positive things we will gain and disregard the new issues that might come.

As much as we don’t like to admit it, tradeoffs are a fact of life. More important than the gains are the problems you will have, the tradeoffs you must make, and if you are ok with them.

I saw myself and other people choosing jobs by focusing solely on the positive aspects of it but not paying attention to the tradeoffs that come with it. Later down the road, one realizes that the problems we have now are not something we are ok with, and we could have thought about it.

Between options, look at the problems you will have and the tradeoffs you have to make. Ultimately they will have a considerable impact on your day to day.?

What else would you address in your life other than your career?

Yeah, I know, the weird question for someone asking about their career. Work can be an isolating experience in our minds, separated from our personal lives. We face times of choice in our careers, looking for something better or different, trying to fulfill a need.

When we struggle in parts of our lives, it’s easy to fall into the trap of projecting that on our jobs, the dissatisfaction with a partner, family struggles, self-esteem issues, you name it.?

Look around, identify where this need is coming from, and what you are trying to achieve before making up your mind.

All these questions need you to be truly honest with yourself. I know it is not easy, and it’s confronting. It helps to have a safe space where you can be unconditionally listened to and be challenged to get genuine, honest answers.

If you want to reflect on what’s next in your career and why, I’ll be happy to support you in making the most conscious decision possible.

Struggling to make a decision? Book an exploration call.