Seeing the Future: How to Tell What You Want to Do in Life

The workplace can be an unhappy place for some people. In a global survey, Gallup shares that only 15 percent of workers are engaged, leaving 85 percent dissatisfied with their careers. Some probable reasons for this misery are poor bosses, lack of professional growth, and overworking. But another, perhaps more damaging reason, is choosing the wrong job.

Poor Job Crafting

Adults tend to miss the train on the right career path. This is because of three things:

• Money
• Lack of self-awareness on talents
• Excellent tolerance for bad jobs

It’s understandable to want the job that pays well – very well. So people end up choosing work based on the compensation package. Although it’s good to get paid exceedingly well, money isn’t correlated with career satisfaction. Clarity about what you’re good at and where your limitations lie may put you in a position that causes you to stress to no end. And this is likely to lead to a high tolerance for what could be a terrible job.

But you don’t have to suffer through a poor career choice. If you’re still in school, organizing requirements for your senior year, now would be a good time to figure out your future. Now would be the perfect time to craft a job that’s going to help you fulfill your life’s goals.

The Right Questions

To learn about your future means to learn more about yourself. Yes, you’ll have to deal with people telling you what you should be doing 10 or so years from now. You’ll have to also manage expectations from a family that may have a legacy in one particular field, like medicine or law. Through it all, you need to stay focused on yourself – and what you want.

So ask yourself: what would I do if I didn’t have the family or friends I have? Family obligations and peer pressure tend to limit your options. And when you start plotting your future according to what others think or say, you’re already leaving some potentially better career paths.

The next question focuses on your happiness. What gives you satisfaction? You have, after all, one life to live. It would be a waste to use it for other people’s desires. When you find yourself choosing a college course because a friend or family member says it’s going to be in-demand, think twice before enrolling.

Back it Up

Once you’ve done the self-reflection and discovered what would bring you joy, work on it. If you enjoy furniture making but have no skill for it, get some training. If you want to start an organic edible garden, learn more about it. If you’ve been dabbling in game design but don’t have sufficient experience with it, apply for an internship at a gaming company.

Not everyone has the knowledge and training to pursue what they truly want to do in life. This is why you need to start planning for your future early on. So you’ll have enough time to develop your skills for a career that’s going to be fulfilling.