Welcome to the eighth blog post in the series “Monthly Mindset Shift”! As the name indicates, this series has one new post per month and will continue for the next several months. Each post in the series details a positive mindset shift we can make surrounding a feeling or experience that generally has a negative connotation. (Spoiler alert: For this post, that experience is career uncertainty!) These shifts aren’t designed to erase all of our difficult/unwanted emotions around the topic at hand. Rather, they simply serve to improve our general outlook on the matter, which can, in turn, improve our actions and our outcomes. They’re all the more proof that a healthier, more constructive mindset can change the game!
As someone who has faced much internal conflict about my career, I can relate to you if you’re in the same boat. This is a topic that I’ve found isn’t talked about nearly enough, and I want to change that. Not only is the broad topic of career uncertainty underrepresented, but so are the specific experiences and feelings involved in career uncertainty that you might be able to attest to. Maybe the more we talk about them together, the better we’ll be able to navigate them.
Career ≠ purpose
On that note, a common feeling associated with career uncertainty is a sense of purposelessness. If you’ve been conditioned to believe that your purpose comes solely or primarily from what you do for work, this time of your life may have you feeling as though you lack purpose. However, this belief is not only harmful but untrue.
Work can serve different purposes for different people. For some people, work is simply a way of making money. For others, it’s also a social opportunity, a reason to get out everyday, a way to contribute to society, and/or a way to put their strengths to good use. Regardless, it might help you to take the pressure off of finding a path that’s your true calling in life. Rather, you can aim to find a path that fulfills other goals.
For example, find a path that makes going to work everyday a generally positive experience. After all, it’s a place where you spend a large percentage of your time. Not hating your job or dreading going to work everyday should be a bare minimum requirement! Find a path that aligns with the kind of lifestyle you want to live. Examples include a remote job that provides more flexibility, a low-stress job that promotes work-life balance, and/or a job that pays enough for you to afford your desires.
“But what about living a purposeful life?”
Still asking yourself how you can live a purposeful life? While it’s absolutely possible for your job to help you fulfill that goal, there are countless other outlets you can turn to as well. In recent years, having a passion project has become all the more popular, for good reason. It can be anything from creating content to offering a service to selling a product (just to name a few examples). Finding something to do extracurricularly that fuels your soul might just give you that sense of purpose. Not only that, but passion projects allow you to have full creative control. In other words, no need to consult with a boss who may have a different vision than you do.
You can start by reflecting on what you’re passionate about. Ask yourself how you can leverage that passion to make a positive impact on others AND make your own life more fulfilling. As is true with jobs, passion projects can serve different purposes for different people. Some people don’t have the intention of turning their passion project into significant financial gain. Others hope to be able to quit their day job to pursue their passion project as a career. Others are somewhere in between and view it as a potential side income.
No matter where on that spectrum you fall, the point of a passion project is exactly what it sounds like—to do something you’re passionate about. Even if you have monetary goals surrounding it, it should ideally be something that fulfills you so much that you’d do it for free if that were the only option. When you’ve found something that fits that description, you know you’ve tapped into one of your many purposes in this world.
To clarify…
Again, it is certainly possible for your job to be your passion. This post isn’t intended to deter you from pursuing your passion as a career. Rather, it’s intended to give you a mindset shift that you don’t need to go that route if it’s only causing you more stress, pressure, or confusion. If you haven’t found your passion yet, or you haven’t figured out quite how to turn your passion into a career yet, that’s okay. A career path that you’re aligned with doesn’t have to be something that lights your inner fire. You’ll find that thing (or things), and how to best integrate it into your life, when the time is right.
To reiterate, if the job that you work for a steady income and the passion project that you do to live out your purpose are two completely different ventures, that’s okay! In an age where there is no standard path, you can pave one for yourself that tailors to your unique needs, desires, goals, and circumstances. If you still find yourself completely unsure of where to begin, I have some more tools for you. Here are some more questions to ask yourself and actions to take to get you closer. These can apply to figuring out your ideal job, passion project, or both:
Questions to Ask Yourself
-What do I love to do?
-What am I really good at?
-What sparks interest or curiosity in me?
-What topics am I passionate about?
-What topics am I knowledgeable in?
-What qualities of mine would lend themselves well to what kinds of jobs?
-What kind of lifestyle do I want?
-What are my financial goals / desires?
-Who do I admire on a professional level?
-What were my childhood aspirations?
-What qualities do I want in a job / career?
Actions to Take
-Do research based on your answers to the above questions.
-Network with people in fields that appeal to you.
-Take free/low-cost online courses & consume content in subjects that interest you.
One last note…
On one last note, a big misconception is that those who are enduring career uncertainty still need to “find themselves”. While there are cases where this is true, often times, someone not knowing what career to pursue isn’t a byproduct of not knowing themself. Rather, it’s a byproduct of not knowing the best way to turn their knowledge about themself into a career path. It may simply be a matter of not knowing all of their available options. This is why research and exploring online resources can be essential in learning what’s out there.
You could know yourself incredibly well and be able to easily answer all the above questions, yet still be unsure of exactly what career you’re most compatible with. Another possible reason for this is that your answers may lead you in contradicting directions. For instance, a career revolving around one of your strengths may not align with your desired lifestyle. However, you likely have many other strengths that would generate different, better-aligned possibilities. Ultimately, your answer to the last question on the list, though, will likely be the most telling. It’s basically a summary of your top priorities among everything you’ve reflected on. The right path for you doesn’t necessarily need to match ALL your answers, but it should match the ones that are important to you.
Whatever the case may be, pinpointing what it is that’s caused you the most uncertainty is a great first step. If you do find that you want to get to know yourself better, my post Self-Discovery Starts with Learning These 5 Things About Yourself might just give you some direction.
The bottom line…
I hope that at the very least, this post gave you a new perspective to help you figure things out. As unsure as you may feel of your path, know it’s only a matter of time before you gain clarity. Be patient, and trust your ability to make a great decision for yourself! May your spell of career uncertainty break in the best possible way for you!
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