A Career Path Is Rarely A Path At All

Tom Freston once said…

“A career path is rarely a path at all. A more interesting life is usually a more crooked, winding path of missteps, luck and vigorous work. It is almost always a clumsy balance between the things you try to make happen and the things that happen to you.”

Are you uninspired or even downright miserable in your current workplace?

Do you dare to dream of a new and exciting job or entirely new career path?

You may have some idea of what you’d really love to do, but no real plan for how to get there. And that’s okay!

Society doesn’t generally teach us the art of reinventing ourselves and following our dreams.

Most of us are taught to pick a major in college and then match a job to that major. But does that really work, long term?

Did you know exactly what you wanted to be at 18?

Did you have the experiences and skills to make a decision that you would be happy with for the rest of your working life?

Watch this wonderfully empowering video with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle to see if you can relate it to yourself or someone you know.

 

Not knowing what your purpose is, is absolutely okay.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”  ~  Mark Twain.

Gone are the days of expecting someones career path to remain the same for their entire working life.

Today, people have on average 5-7 different careers, throughout their lives. Some that are related to each other and some that feel completely random.

And so, the approach to a career path these days is quite different to that of your grandparents and their parents.

As Eckhart says:

Uncertainty is part of life, and you’re not always going to have the choice to take one singular path.

So embrace the uncertainty! Embrace the adventure!

No matter how old you are, or how long you’ve been in a particular line of work, does that mean you can’t ever have some fun doing something completely different? Of course not!

If everything is mapped out for us, we can’t evolve and come anywhere close to our fullest potential.

We aren’t tested nearly as often and we aren’t exposed to new ideas, cultures or ways of doing things.

If everything is mapped out, most likely life will be relatively easy (barring catastrophes) but at the same time, quite boring.

“Sit with yourself.” Be okay with being who you are.

Be more attuned to your inner urges and dreams, and become aware of the conditioned thoughts that insist, “I can’t do that!” (What do they know, anyway?)

Once you are attuned with what you want, and what feels right and good to you, you will become so much more bolder in going after it and you’ll live a truly satisfying life.

Without uncertainty…

Can your self-confidence really grow?

Can your horizons open up?

Can you embrace different ways of thinking and doing?

No. But uncertainty does that!

Ultimately, embracing change (whether a brand new career path or other life changing decision) and making mistakes along the way helps you to realize, “that wasn’t my purpose” and so you can turn in a different direction and explore what’s offered there.

When you’re open to adventure, you are also being kinder to yourself.

If you’re going to go off on an adventure, you have to be physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared. Stagnating in a safe but uninspiring existence doesn’t prepare you for change.

Being open to adventure means you are ready, willing and able to walk through the unexpected doors that have opened to you.

Life is your epic journey and it’s a process.

So be an adventurer, reinvent yourself whenever you feel like it, and say YES to life!