How To Align Your Career With Your Purpose: 9 Tips For Self-Discovery
Learning how to align your career with your purpose in life can be a daunting task.
Self-discovery is an ongoing journey that is ever-evolving.
At one point or another, we’ve all reflected on our careers and wondered how they align with our true purpose.
It may have started with determining the best major to take in college and then second-guessing, ten years post-graduation, whether the job you took was right for you.
As you grow and change with each new season of your career, you learn more about the world around you and the impact you want to have in it.
Guest Post: This article was written by Cat, a freelance content writer from Western Massachusetts. She’s living out her ultimate passion and purpose of creating content that enlightens and empowers women to be the best versions of themselves. You can learn more about her here.
Where You Spend Your Time Matters
Outside of the comfort of the home you’ve created for yourself, the second largest amount of time you spend anywhere will be in your workplace.
Whether your workplace is the remote corner of a Starbucks or a three-walled cubicle in a skyscraper, it plays a large role in who you become as a professional.
The world is moving toward a remote-friendly workplace. We are learning that the physical location of our job does not nearly hold as much weight on who we are as our actual career duties do.
Questioning your career choice is normal.
It is perfectly okay to wonder if your job is the right fit for you.
Even more, if what you are doing is something that’s meaningful to your existence.
Questioning is part of internal growth, so don’t stress over it, but rather, listen to your inner gut.
Questioning Your Career Path Leads to Self-Discovery
Are you in love with your job but feel as though the company you work for isn’t in line with your values and ideals?
Do you feel as though your tasks are monotonous and you want your purpose to feel bigger?
Do you outright dislike every facet of the job position you’re in but feel stuck because without it you’d be financially void?
I hear you; I understand you. I’m here to tell you that it is okay. That part of self-discovery is growing through and out of things too, even your careers.
It’s okay to major in marketing, pursue a career at a large marketing firm and realize none of it is for you.
The most amazing part of your journey is that it belongs to you.
You have the power to decide what is important.
You are in control of what you decide to put your energy in and breathe your own life into.
Your career “aha” moment may come when you’re 20, 40 or somewhere in between, there is no set timeframe on your internal path to self-discovery.
Follow the path that you feel is the right choice for you and ultimately your career and purpose will have intersected.
9 Actionable Steps to Help You Align Your Career With Your Purpose
When you are feeling stuck in your career there are a few things that you can do to uncover your path’s purpose.
- Write down words, phrases and ideas that spark something in your soul.
- Compare that list to your current job duties. Where is there alignment?
- Determine if there are ways to sync your lists. If not, consider some out-of-the box career options that you would love to pursue if money wasn’t a factor.
- Meditate and visualize on it. Spend 5-10 minutes a day reflecting on your feelings and experiences while at your current job.
- Envision your future. Where do you see yourself in the next year? 2 years? 5 years? What does happiness look like for you?
- Invest in a career coach or reach out to someone you trust to help you talk through your thought process and feelings.
- Don’t be afraid to take the leap into something new if you discover you need a change. Plan for it so that you are ready to jump with a solid financial and life plan, but lose the worry.
- Journal your process. Write down your journey, for you, on a daily or weekly basis. Read through what you’ve written occasionally when you are looking for reassurance or realignment on your path.
- Pursue jobs that align with your general beliefs. If you are working for an organization that supports and nurtures the same set of passions you have, you will feel fulfilled and purposeful in your role.
Self-Discovery is a Lifetime Process
Staying true to yourself in a world where you feel pulled in hundreds of directions is tough.
Navigating down new paths can feel scary. Understanding your career and purpose is a lifelong discovery process.
Be gentle with yourself, listen to your heart and choose to be unapologetically you.
As cliché as it may sound, your life has a unique purpose.
Your career choice is part of your ultimate plan to fulfill your purpose.
Navigating your self-discovery – and your career – is hardly easy!
Sometimes, a step in the right direction can be figuring out what isn’t right for you.
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