Top 7 Tools for Inspiring Career ObjectivesCommitment to inspiring career objectives will change your life. Life is like cycling, you can only stay balanced when you are heading towards something. Aims that resonate with you on a deep level are the expression of this direction in life. It took me years to figure out what I really wanted. This held me back because I knew that nothing would be worse than ‘climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall’ , as Stephen Covey eloquently puts it. Until I clarified my direction all I had were general ideas about wanting success. The lack of specific career objectives left me feeling unfulfilled and stagnant.
These are the some of the most useful tools for finding your inspired career objectives. The time you invest in preparation will pay dividends when inspiration starts to pull you forward and draws in people to support you. 1) ValuesValues express what is most important to you. Not on the material level but on the level of being. They underlie the choices you make and the actions you take.By understanding your highest values you gain a map pointing towards your top careers. The more your values are expressed in your career objectives the more inspired and motivated you will become. 2) Goal SettingSetting goals turns your general aims into specific outcomes. This is a process of fine-tuning. As you create new drafts of your goals you will fine tune what you really want. The more precisely you can express your career objectives the more they will inspire you.3) VisualisationVisualisation is a fantastic tool for designing careers. It is a way of trying your goals on for size, before you commit to them. This is a creative process that uses your imagination to focus on what it will be like when you have achieved a goal.This gives you the opportunity to by-pass any doubts about how to achieve a goal and zoom in on whether the result is worthwhile. It is revealing to visualize several possible futures and then compare your experiences. This can bring a great deal of clarity when making difficult career decisions. 4) Mission StatementA mission statement is a short summary of what your life is about. It draws on your values and goals to express your purpose. Crafting your mission is an ongoing soul searching experience that brings you closer to experiencing who you really are.This understanding takes you to a new level of power for making big career choices. When you have a clear personal mission statement, personal mission statement, the decisions in life are reduced to whether or not something helps or hinders your purpose. 5) IntuitionIntuition is a source of non-linear knowledge. Our senses receive millions of bits of information that are processed and filtered by our subconscious. Only a tiny fraction of this information ever makes it to the conscious mind. So consider there are many things that you do not consciously know that you know. Intuition, gut-feelings, and hunches are a way those useful bits of information draw attention to themselves.These are often written off or drowned out by the flood of conscious thoughts. So it takes practise to create space in which to hear your intuitive nudges. 6) Life ExperienceYour life so far is a library of information about what fulfils you. Extracting the useful information, like ‘When have you felt most in flow?’, and examining context of those situations can provide valuable insights into creating your career objectives.There is also a lot of junk in your past, so it is important to ask yourself high quality questions to get the useful information. Online Career Test Central contains a selection of questionnaires designed to do exactly this. 7) Get FeedbackOften other people see you more clearly than you can see yourselves. Insecurities often blind people from what is stunningly obvious to those closest to us. Take The Self-Test for some 360° feedback from your friends, family and colleagues.You may also consider coaching. Your friends and family’s vision is complicated by your ongoing relationships. Coaching offers a completely open space, free from preconceived notions of who you are. In this environment you can work at the inner most levels to create new possibilities for yourself.
The overviews in this article do not do justice to the value these tools offer. So I encourage you to follow the various links to more detailed information. The most inspiring career objectives are an expression of who you are. Each method of enquiry will uncover different aspects of who you really are. As you gain clarity a sense of direction will emerge. Be patient because this is an ongoing process. Eventually, through further refining you will inherit your most inspiring career objectives. Return from Career Objectives to Career Choices Homepage
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