Love what you do…and then teach others to do the same!
By Lee-Anne Geseron.
We often work with clients who are contemplating a change – be it personal, life style, or career choice/growth.
Statistics show that 70-80 percent of people dislike their current jobs. This ranges from a mild irritation to downright loathing. That is 4 out of 5 workers! This is incredibly sad when you think about it, since the majority of our time is spent at work!
The reality of this is that many workplace roles are simply not being filled by the right people. If the roles and responsibilities of a job don’t match the personality style, values, and goals of a person, how can they be happy? It becomes virtually impossible to function at peak performance or to live up to life expectations. Job compatibility is vital to happiness and we, as Career Professionals, are no exception to this rule.
So, how are you stacking up?
Do you practice what you preach? Are you keeping your best skills and goals in mind when marketing yourself and your services? Is your work in line with your values and who you aim to be as a professional?
As a Career Professional, you are helping clients all the time. Due to this, it becomes even more vital that you take time out to focus on your decisions and personal growth. Take the time to reflect on the direction that means something to you and who you want to be as a provider in employment supports. By following your own advice and making sure that you love what you do, you will find yourself better equipped to help your clients to do the same.
As career professionals we aim to give our clients a glimpse into the life they desire. So why not stop every once in a while and ask yourself; Am I being true to myself and who I want to be? It is, after all, our life to live and, in the end, our decisions to make in regards to loving what WE do!
It is important to think about how we view life choices. When we look at life, we can look at it as a series of events. Generally, we make decisions and choices based on the hope of gaining something OR our desire to avoid pain.
When it comes time to look at our movement towards change we must look at our readiness and our willingness for the change to occur. To clarify, readiness is how prepared a person is for change to occur. Willingness, then, is a person’s attitude towards that potential change. There are four stages in assessing readiness and willingness:
- First, we often resist it! We are not ready or willing to even consider changing.
- Second, we begin to humour the idea of change. This is when we find ourselves considering it as an option and are willing to think/listen to potential alternatives, but are still unsure.
- Third, we become ready and responsible for making a change. We find ourselves wanting to get involved in what specifically needs to be changed and how this is going to happen.
- Finally, there is the action stage! This is when we find the resources and the tools to make it happen. This may be expanding on your skill sets; we then develop a plan and see it through.
Our behaviours and attitudes are driven by the guidelines we set for ourselves based on our values, goals, beliefs, and ideals.
So what is driving you? Do you know the beliefs, goals, values, and ideals that motivate you each day?
Every job contains a combination of work related tasks that must be accomplished for the job to be completed successfully. As we all have different interests, hobbies, and passions, it is understandable that there are some tasks we would prefer to accomplish over others. It is okay to have personal preference for the way you would like to spend your working hours and the majority of your day; and this includes Career Professionals. So focus on what you love and “sell” that as your service…watch your love for your “job” sky rocket…along with your career and business!
Here is a short video that I share with my clients. Please feel free to share it among your own clients as a means to gain vital insight into where they sit on the change spectrum. And if you yourself are looking at making a change in your life, this is a great place to start.