How To Know You’re In The Right Career

How To Know You’re In The Right Career

Having a job and having a career are two entirely different things. If you have a job, it’s likely that you’ll be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, as soon as something better comes along. It’s even possible that you know that you this is not the place for you, but because any income is better than no income at all, you’re doing it anyway. A career, however, is something that you do because you want to. It’s something you do because you love it and you know you can advance. However, even when people have careers, there might still be something else out there. After all, being content is not quite the same as being happy, and it’s being happy that we need to strive for. To get happiness when it comes to your working life, you need to be in the right career. So here are the signs to look out for to ensure you are.

You Mind Is Peaceful

When you are working in the right career for you, your mind will be a much more peaceful thing. If you’re not doing what is good for you, your mind will wander. It will start to think of anything and everything else that you could or should be doing rather than the job at hand. That’s not a good thing; it makes a career path that is already potentially incorrect into something that is impossible to follow. When you are doing the right thing for you, that wandering of the mind won’t happen. You’ll be fully focused on your career, and you will allow nothing to stand in your way. Next time you’re at work take a moment to think about how quiet, or otherwise, your mind really is. What is it you’re yearning for?

You’re Excited

We’re not saying you have to wake up every single morning and be happy about going to work; that’s pretty much impossible. Work is still work, no matter how much fun it is or what you do when you get there. However, if once you are out of bed (the hardest part) and you understand that you are looking forward to going into work, that you are keen to get on with the next task or project or just see what interesting things the day will bring you, then you are in the right career. Ideally, you want something that doesn’t feel like work, but that’s not always possible (congratulations if you have found it, though!). The closest thing to this is discovering that your work is almost as fun as your home life. Now that’s special, and it means that your happiness levels are soaring. As well as all of this, the well-known ‘Sunday blues’ that make people miserable on a Sunday evening because they’ve had two days off and now have to go to work again will not be something you ever have to contend with again.

It’s Effortless

When you’re in the right career for you, you’ll be good at what you do. Everyone has something that they excel in, and maybe you already know what that is, or maybe you’re still looking for it. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to find that thing, as long as you continue to look, because ultimately, it will help you find the right career for you. When you’re doing what’s right, it will feel almost effortless, as though you already knew much of the information you needed to instinctively. You won’t feel stressed, you won’t feel overwhelmed, you won’t feel worried that you’re doing a bad job. After all, this is your vocation, and it’s what you need to do to be happy. Healthcare is one sector that it is easy to feel like this in, and if you think that healthcare might be where you need to search, check out The Definitive Guide to Healthcare Careers for advice and information.

Second Best Is Not Good Enough

When you have chosen the right career for you, you won’t want to do anything that isn’t up to your highest standard. It’s about pride and love of the job, plus you want people to know how good you are at it! There won’t be any time for side projects or distractions (although a hobby or two, kept strictly to your downtime, is a good idea to keep your brain active or your body healthy). The key to knowing that you’re in the right career is that you won’t let anything mean that you produce substandard work, no matter what. Yes, that may mean you’re something of a workaholic at times, but that’s just because you know what you’re doing is absolutely what you’re meant to be doing, and that’s exciting.

You Set Your Own Schedule

Although this isn’t always possible in all careers; if you can set your own schedule, and you do set your own schedule, then it’s likely you’re in exactly the right career for you. That’s because you’re working at times that keep you most productive and interested. Therefore, your work is more productive and interesting too. For some people, depending on the work they’re doing, that might be every hour of every day! For some, it might just be mornings, perhaps late nights or early afternoons. Working when it suits you should bring much better results than trying to work when the job dictates you should.

You’re Satisfied

When you get your career right, everything else should happily follow, meaning that you’re entirely satisfied with your life. It all works perfectly and blends together wonderfully. This kind of alignment isn’t something that everyone gets to experience, so if you can, you should grab hold of it and understand that your career is the right one after all. When you’re in the right career for you, you will be able to spot new opportunities as they spring up, and this could be in your work or home life. It will make you feel even happier and even more satisfied. You’ll no longer experience limiting beliefs, and you’ll be able to conquer any obstacles in your path.

You Have Friends

One of the ways that you know you’ve found your ideal spot and perfect career is that you have friends at work. Colleagues don’t always make for good friends. You spend a lot of time with them, yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to like them, or that you have a lot (if anything other than working in the same place) in common. However, if you’re in the right place, doing the best thing for you, you’re much more likely to think of your work colleagues as good friends. It makes going into work even easier because you’re going to spend that time with people you truly like. It really can make all the difference to how you see your career.

You Can’t Imagine Doing Anything Else

Ask any group of people and the majority will tell you that they daydream (possibly more than they should) about working somewhere other than where they are. That is not the sign of someone happy in their job; it’s not the sign of someone in the right career. If changing your career has never even entered your head, and you’re one of the few people who, if asked, would not be able to truthfully say you ever daydreamed about being elsewhere or doing something else, then you are in the right career. Your mind is at peace, your soul is happy, and there is nothing for you to daydream about because everything is as it should be.

You Are Acknowledged

If you’re trying your utmost and you still don’t get any recognition from your superiors, your colleagues, your customers, and clients, then maybe it’s time to rethink your career. If you’re in the right career, you’ll have that praise and acknowledgment. Your boss will push you harder, and you’ll want to do your best. If not, there is no point in wasting your life doing the wrong thing. There isn’t enough time to tell yourself you’ll find a new career tomorrow, or next month or next year. You’ll just be miserable in the meantime. Why? If you’re miserable now and nothing looks set to change in your job, then changing the job itself is what you need to do.

You Wonder Why People Don’t Enjoy Their Work

When you are truly settled and successful (in whichever way you measure success) in a career, you’ll wonder why there are people who don’t enjoy their work. You won’t sympathize with them; you won’t accept that this is how everyone feels because you just don’t feel the same way. You love your job. You’d do anything for it. Even if you have to suffer, just a little, to get things done, you’ll do it (but it probably won’t feel like suffering to you). What kind of suffering? It could be that you have to work late, or you wake up early. It might mean sacrificing some family time every now and then (not all the time, you still need your work-life balance). Whatever it is, you really won’t mind.