The steps to finding your career path

When the job you think you want to do is the only thing that defines you, it’s time to explore your self more.
We are all here to find our purpose. Some people can identify this at an earlier stage in their lives, whilst some take a while longer. People who get it quicker, are those who really know themselves. They know what they are good at, they have hobbies, and they have a healthy life balance between their social and their professional life. Time is really not that important as long as you can get to it at some point. It can be hard to know what to do with your life if you have not looked at yourself from a bigger picture point of view. No matter who you are, where you come from, how old you are, what shape and size you are or what color your skin is, everybody has a deep desire to do something they love and to succeed at it. We all have dreams and aspirations and the road to make these happen is a little longer, or maybe slightly bumpier for some than the others; but always within your reach!
 
WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT?
This question can be extremely daunting for some people but let me tell you something. Everybody is good at something. Regardless what this is, you have to know that you are really, really good at something. You might not know what yet, but it’s there inside of you waiting to manifest itself. All you need to do is take a look back at your life and see what you have achieved so far. Take your academic achievements, your life experiences, the different jobs you had, the different situations you faced and how you dealt with these. Identify your practicality. Are you somebody who likes to be creative and make things from scratch? What did you study? What have you learned from each of your life experiences so far? Are you a more of an ideas person or a do you like to follow instructions? What skills do you have? Everything that you have experienced in your life so far has been because you chose to do so. Even though you may not agree now, look back at these experiences and see that you were the one who actually chose to make things happen the way they did. Yes life throws curve balls at us, or opens new exciting ventures, but you were the one who made the conscious choice to go ahead and do it. So take a moment to reflect at all these past situations and find our who you are from a practical point of you.
 
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?
Yet another difficult question for some people. Let’s just make something very clear. Your job is not a hobby. Your academic achievements are not a hobby (unless you study something out of pleasure and not because you have to). Spending time with your family and friends is not one either. Often when we are asked this question, we answer with the above examples because we believe that doing something and spending our time on it is what it means. A hobby is something that is part of you, the much deeper part of you. This opens up your creative side. Even the most analytical, strategic people who don’t consider themselves creative do in fact have a lot of creativity inside of them. If you are struggling to identify your hobbies, think of this. What do you love doing that gives you personal satisfaction and helps you develop yourself as a being? Think about who you are and what you love doing for yourself. Very often hobbies don’t include other people because they are all about you, about your inner self. I like to bake, I love to write, I enjoy learning about astrology and running/physical exercise. These are the activities that I do for myself and nobody else. They give me personal satisfaction and emotional growth because they open up my creativity channels and take me away from my daily routine. I don’t share these with anybody else; I do them solely for me (I do however share the cakes I bake with others). How can hobbies help you identify what you want to do in life? Again, they bring out your creative self and this is a very powerful part of you. I may not be an amazing baker, but I truly enjoy it. And whilst I will not become a professional baker, it actually taught me that I am good at putting things together and creating something from scratch. I don’t particularly enjoy following set guides and instructions, but following recipes taught me that I am a patient person. I may not become a published author, but writing teaches me that I enjoy helping others in a creative way. I will also probably not become a professional athlete, but running teaches me that I have a lot of discipline and drive. You get the idea…. Look at what you love doing and see why you enjoy it so much. Then put that on paper and create a map of your professional self.

ARE YOU A GO-GETTER OR A DOER?
Let me just start by saying that both of these are extremely important qualities in a person and we all have both, but one is usually more dominant than the other. A doer is no less than a go-getter and a go-getter is not superior to a doer. Both are needed to get things done. What can you identify with the most? Are you the type of person who is very self-efficient? Can you just get on with things without having somebody guide you? Are you a self-motivator? Do you get out of bed each morning and organize your day, knowing exactly what you will accomplish and how you will make this happen? Are you willing to take risks to achieve your ultimate goal? If this is you, then you might have more of the qualities a go-getter has. You are the ideas person, the one who comes up with a concept, who often sees the bigger picture. You know there will be obstacles, but you are willing to take a risk because you are confident in your abilities and you have a very clear picture of the ultimate outcome.

On the other hand, do you enjoy following a set of instructions? Are you seeking inspiration from others to encourage you? Do you enjoy praise and reassurance from somebody else to help you understand that you are doing the right thing? Are you a team player who likes to have the coach create a strategy? Are you the person who takes situations step by step to accomplish the big picture given by somebody else? If so, you might be more of a doer. This doesn’t mean you are lost on your own, it means that you enjoy having somebody there to always learn from, it may mean that although you are not the one who comes up with the idea, you are the one who helps make it happen. These two characteristics can really help you identify where you want to be as a professional. Are you aspiring to be more of a leader and inspire/guide others or do you thrive on being somebody who helps others make things happen? Think about it and see where this would fit within a career.
 
If you have reached this point, congratulations, it means you are pretty eager to get yourself on the right path for you. Remember to listen to your inner self and let your intuition guide you. Stay focused on your own path and allow your creativity to manifest itself so you ​can reach your success.