The time has come for you to clarify your career objectives. If you knew you would succeed, what is the type of work that you would do? Record your ideas in the chart in Section 3.3.1.
Are you surprised at what you wrote? Or does this type of work confirm what you have been thinking? This is the time to make a commitment. In order to begin the next phase, you need to have a sense of direction, some general goals to work towards.
Organize your ideas into 3 groups: long-term, medium-term and short-term. By having longer-term goals, you will be able to set your course to becoming successful in your career. Then by working backwards to the present, you will be able to take a step at a time toward your ultimate goal.
How much of your total being (body, mind, spirit) do you want to commit to the work you have listed in the "now" column? Will you be able to see this work as part of the big picture, the dreams you have, your special way of contributing to the world? Receiving pay from an employer means completing the tasks required by the position. Will the joy you experience doing this be greater than the burden?
This is why your personality and attitudes are the most important predictors of success in your career and in your life generally. You can’t accomplish more than you believe you can. Your thoughts, positive or negative, come into play (self-fulfilling prophecy). How you accept your own abilities will define whether or not you achieve your goals.
The secret of an athlete’s success can be yours. Create a mental model (e.g., a high jumper will visualize running and sailing over the bar in the competition). Use your imagination to create what you want in life. Close your eyes and visualize yourself doing the work you have written in the "now" section above. Are you indoors or outdoors? Is there anyone with you? What tools or equipment are you using? What are you saying, writing or thinking? What deadline are you working towards? To be successful in visualizing your work, you need to have a strong desire for the goal to be achieved, a belief that the goal is possible to attain, and a willingness to live with the outcome.
Complete your visualization with an affirmation (in the present tense of the verb as though it already exists). "I am ..." You can phrase it as a role (e.g., a customer support representative, or as an activity, such as supervising volunteers). Say the affirmation so often that the thought becomes very comfortable and exciting for you. Finding work will be so much easier when you can describe it to others with clarity and confidence!
To continue to the next Section, Step 3.3, click here.
