Do you remember the time in high school when they wanted you to choose your dream job? A career you would do for the rest of your entire life? How on earth would anyone know exactly what they want to do when they have little to no experience doing anything?
Today’s post is simple - 3 ways to figure out your dream job. To figure out what you’re passionate about and what gets you out of bed in the morning. Think back to a time where you were so excited to wake up you could barely sleep - Christmas maybe? A huge job interview as an adult maybe? What was that day?
Figuring out your dream job or career path that you’re passionate about is no easy task. Claiming you want to be an astronaut, firefighter, or superhero may sound cool as a kid, but let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of what you actually want to do, or might be interested in.
While I hate to say it - the system is flawed. There is little to no guidance or training on figuring out what you would enjoy doing as a high school senior (at least this was my experience). I was told to sit at a computer for 30 minutes and do a random personality test that was supposed to give me my top 3 career paths… As if this ever works out for anybody at 17.
Let’s talk about the keys of a dream job first, then we’ll get into the 3 steps towards figuring it out. Keep a close eye out for these items in your own life as their important to figuring out what you want to do.
Passion means to have a strong like or desire towards something. When it comes to finding your dream job it most definitely helps if you’re passionate about that certain field. When you’re passionate about something you tend to give it your all no matter what. You don’t mind putting in extra hours or sacrifices to get things done right.
If you hate the idea of going to the dentist and despise teeth you may want to avoid becoming a dental hygenist or dentist. On the other hand, if you love clean white teeth and believe that everyone’s smile is important, committing to dentistry may be right up your alley.
Know your passions and what you love to do in life. While not everyone has a career path they’re passionate about, finding your dream job is different. You want it to be something that gets you revved up.
If waking up is tough day after day you may be in the wrong field, or at the wrong workplace. Finding something that gets you excited to wake up each and every day will help you do amazing work. While there are days where everyone is tired and struggles to wake up it shouldn’t be a regular occurrence.
You should be excited to jump out of bed and get going. If you’re someone who wakes up at the last minute before work and is rushed you may want to look into something else. Waking up earlier to give you enough time to take care of yourself before your job will help you feel better and get more done.
When you feel good about your job/career it’s something you will want to keep doing. If you think about your field and light up when talking about it you’ve found a good match. Feeling good is a key aspect to enjoying what you do. Of course, everyone has a bad day from time to time - this is expected.
Now you know what things to look for/feel when figuring out your dream job it’s time to get into the 3 steps to get you there.
List 5 things you’re passionate about. These should be somewhat obvious - the things you like to do on a daily basis. Maybe you like playing music, or drawing, or working out. Try and dig deep to find 5 things you really like doing and care about. It could be something less obvious like helping others. Write out your top 5 passions now.
What do you love to do? What are the things you can see yourself enjoying for years to come? Asking yourself questions like these can help you gain more clarity on what your passions are.
Knowing yourself will help you discover new things about who you are and what you like to do. You’d be shocked at how little effort people put into getting to know themselves. Even though you are in control of your life and make your own decisions (hopefully) there is still a lot to learn about the one and only YOU.
Take a strength and personality test. While these aren’t the end all be all they do help with understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and preferred learning methods. I recommend checking out the Clifton Strengths test. It’s an in-depth questionnaire that helps you discover your top 5 strengths. You do have to pay for it online but the results are well worth it.
I also highly recommend purchasing My Little Ikigai Journal. It is a book created to help you know more about yourself through asking thoughtful questions, creative exercises, and inspiration throughout.
Taking some time and effort to perform these tasks will be well worth the investment. Getting to know yourself at a deeper level will help you in so many areas of your life.
How would you ever know what you like doing if you’ve never tried it before? How could you possibly choose which program in college/university to go into when you are 17-18 years old? This is why so many people are walking around with degrees, diplomas, or certificates who have never worked in the field, or not for long anyway.
Experimentation is your friend. I’ve been experimenting for nearly two years straight now! It’s allowed me to create an online business and figure out what I really wanted to do within it. Two years of pivoting and adjusting, trying many different things along the way. It started with the idea of wanting to help people at its foundation.
I decided to write 2 books on areas I was an expert in, I created cinematic videos to test out my creativeness, I created talking head videos to help people learn and grow, launched social media channels, created blog posts just like this, courses, coaching clients and more. I wasn’t entirely sure on what avenue I wanted to pursue, so I tried a bunch of different things.
This is what I want you to do as well. Just try something new. Test your idea today. If you want to create a YouTube channel start now. Each and everything you do will help you to learn and grow day by day. It’s not a waste of time if it helps you figure out your dream job.
It will take some time and effort but worth it in the end. Thanks so much for reading today’s post! Now you know 3 things you can do right now to get you on your right career path.
P.S. I recently launched a FREE 5-day goal-setting email course - The Ultimate 5 Day Goal-Setting Course. I think this will help you gain a further understanding of goals and creating a clear vision for your life. I can’t wait to see you inside the course! Till next week.
Chris M Wilson
Chris M Wilson is a career coach, entrepreneur, blogger, author, creator, and doer. He is passionate about helping people leave the job they hate and jump into their dream careers!
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