Where Is Your Career Headed?

© Copyright Deborah Brown-Volkman , All Rights Reserved

The Direction Your Career Takes Is Up To You

Does your career seem to be going nowhere fast? Is it

because of the economy, your company, your boss, or

your co-workers? Is it everyone's fault but your own?

Your career gets better when you make it better and

that requires your participation. Circumstances can

throw us off-track from time to time. But, the person

responsible for the direction of your career is you.

(Even if it does not feel that way.)

Being responsible for your career sets you free. Once

you are accountable, you can assess what's working, and

eliminate what's not. You can make changes that need to

be made because you know you are the person who can

make them.

Once you take responsibility, you have no one to blame

anymore. You get the control back into your career. You

can move forward because you know you have to power to

do so.

So How Do You Take Responsibility For Your Career.

Follow These Five Steps Below:

1. You Decide To Be Responsible

An attitude that begins with "I don't care" or "I'll

wait for things to improve on their own" can one day

become a problem that is so overwhelming that you are

not sure how to deal with it. (Don't let this happen to

you. If you are already overwhelmed by a complacent

attitude, know that there is a way out.) If you do not

deal with your career now, you will have to deal with

it later. If you are not working on your career, your

career moves without direction. No direction means no

goals, which means no progress.

Being responsible does not mean you are chained to your

commitments. It means that you recognize that if your

career is not going in the direction that you would

like it to go that it's up to you to take it in a

different path.

2. You Find Someone Who You Can Help With Their Career

What? Help others? What about me?

Sometimes when we are upset about our careers we go

inward. Introspection is good when it helps us

regroup. Not good when all we think about is our career

problems. Looking to helps others can motivate you to

take action. Helping a colleague with career challenges

will give you objectivity about your situation. You'll

also get energized, inspired, and motivated. And,

you'll feel better. Helping someone else will help you

move forward in ways that you'd never imagine.

3. You Become Inspired

My clients ask me what inspiration means. I tell them

that inspiration is an almighty force that arises from

inside. It lights you up and gives you more power than

you ever expected. It's what pushes you to pick up the

phone, write another letter, or send out another e-mail

when you don't feel like it. Recall a time in your

career when you were excited and energized because

everything was going your way. Apply that feeling to

where you are now.

To become inspired, put your disappointments behind

you. They serve only to hold you back. Recognize that

your career will improve when you take responsibility

for improving it. Inspiration will help you to change

your career for the better.

4. You Create A Plan

What do you want to happen in your career? Are you

crystal clear or do you have a muddied idea of where

you would like to be?

You cannot get to where you want to go unless you know

where you are going.

How do you know? You listen to your gut. You listen to

that nagging feeling inside that won't go away. You

take small steps in that direction. Will you have all

of your answers up front? No. But if it feels right, it

probably is right.

Create your vision. Where would you be if you could not

fail? What would you do if there were no obstacles in

your way? Get your vision on paper and look at it

everyday. Then, develop a plan for reaching your goal.

What will you do first? Second? Third? When will you

do it? Get this down on paper and use your calendar to

keep you on track. Once you know what you want, the

rest is implementation.

5. You Achieve Your Goals

Goals are achieved when you are working hard towards

them on a regular basis. Your goals may not be reached

on your timetable (most goals are not), but trust that

you will get there. Know that the work you put in today

will bring the rewards you seek tomorrow.

So, what do you say? You only have one life to live, so

it might as well be a life you love!