I don't know what I want professionally.
"I don't know exactly what I want. What should I do with my talents, with my work?" Not knowing what you want in life and in your career can be very stressful and frustrating. This often leads to a feeling of being stuck.
In this blog, our guest writer Catrin Rubenson will guide you through some options, when you are doubting what you really want to do, professionally.
Unlimited possibilities
In your life, there are unlimited possibilities. This also applies to your career opportunities. When you go online and look for jobs, you can easily get stressed. Making the "right choice" among all these options is not an easy task. Especially not if you have no clarity, about what your future career should look like. This can lead to you not making a conscious decision at all because you can't decide what "the right choice" is. Many people become insecure and stay stuck. In fact, there is no absolute one right choice. Having some self-knowledge makes it easier to proceed from a stuck situation.
Longing for change
During your career, you always come to a phase in which you have the feeling that you want to develop more. Your personal growth may have stagnated or you may have lost your inspiration in the middle of your career because of all the work. You realize you need a change. You do not want to do the same for another 25 years of your professional life? Your soul cries out for more satisfaction. You don't know how to approach it. In this phase, thoughts of change rob a lot of energy.
Confusion, stress, fatigue and anxiety can arise. The following questions often arise:
- What do I do with my life?
- What do I actually want to work with?
- Where am I going?
- Have I made the right career decisions?
Clear decisions require a conscious process
If the right job comes, it is advantageous to already have clarity about your own wishes. Then you can consciously say yes or no. Turning down a great position can be hard to resist. But if you know what you want, you will not only be flattered when an offer for a great position comes, but you also know that this is the right choice for you. But if you take a job for which you don't really have enough drive, you won't have fun, and most likely you won't experience success.
The job looks good on your CV
It's often the case that people don't know what they're really feeling deep inside. They lack the time, the knowledge or the desire to cultivate a relationship with the inner compass. Since they do not prioritize the time for self-reflection, it is difficult to lead oneself or to reach self-knowledge. Many people are therefore led or even controlled from the outside, and compare themselves with other people. Decisions are made based on what others think. You can then hear someone say something like this: “This job looks good on my CV.“. If you decide like this, you can unconsciously waste years of your life.
The inner compass
Being led from the inside means that you stop and listen to yourself:
- When am I happy?
- What tasks do I do with ease?
- What do I love to do?
- When do I feel flow?
We are all different and unique individuals and suited for different roles and tasks. Being inspired and joyful at work is different from person to person. This process is about you. Trust your own feeling! Then you will be guided to the right job.
Coaching yourself?
To get to what you want, you need to work out a deeper understanding of what you really want. The basis is to understand yourself, your driving forces, your competencies and your interests and to accept yourself for who you are. Working on yourself and really making a decision to start the transformation means being persistent and not giving up. If you know what you want and you have clarity about your future path, the stress will be reduced and you will come back to balance. If this process challenges you too much, I recommend you find a coach, who can accompany you through this important phase.
About the author:
Catrin Rubenson is a trained systemic coach and has been working with coaching since 2015. Prior to that, she was a CEO in the field of Digital Media. She accompanies people in change processes (career, profession) and in growth phases (human potential, talents or business growth). „People & growth, this is my great interest. In business, I was able to build up some companies and lead them to success. I love the start-up process in a company. To support people and businesses to grow, and expand, that’s my passion.“
