Igniting the fire within you!
Most of us are sensible enough to understand when we are in deep trouble.
This is an instinct, and no one needs a lesson to judge how much trouble are you in.
I am talking about situations in life & career. If you get stuck, you will undoubtedly sense it. Most of us BEAR it, and some CHALLANGE it.
The questions that pop up when you are stuck are:
Oh! I am not sure what do I do next.
I need to change this job, but getting a better option is tricky.
I promise if you read till the end, you will get better clarity on the depth of your trouble & start thinking about your Next Step!
Ok, the first thing that you need to know is if your problem is real!
Many of us overreact and widen our problems in our minds rather than put effort to overcome those.
Let me now share how you progress on the assessment of the problem in your job, career, or personal growth.
There are five broad steps one needs to follow:
The first step is to step back; remember, if you continuously be on the race and spend 12 hours of your day on the job to remain afloat or avoid redundancy, you will never be able to discover your next step.
I suggest you may take a break for a few days, go for a vacation, and avoid all distractions like unwanted calls or chatting or even notifications on your phone, browsing social media, etc.
I am sure if you carry office work on vacation, your purpose for a break will be defeated.
The second step is to Self-Introspect it is like your investments. When you invest in a property or put money in mutual funds, you go back and check how much your investment has grown, and you make decisions depending on profits, whether to continue or disinvest.
The same thing you will do here. I have done it multiple times and found this method works. My formula is like this first reason out with yourself how profitable is your present job or business.
Here profit is not only about the money that you earn. Four other factors are important that are your time, happiness, health & family need to be considered. Rate the satisfaction score from 1 to 10 in each case to assess where you stand.
Write it by hand, our brain reciprocates visuals better.
The next step is Building choices for you.
I always suggest here your mind and heart should work together. If you are undisturbed, your mind will work better, and your heart knows which path to take.
Most of us know our next step when in trouble. The only thing you need is to convince yourself by evaluating, various options to pick the safest one.
If you are determined, I am sure you will convince your office to take this small break from work and keep your mobile phone away.
Here it would help if you built options. When I left my corporate cushy job, I felt the need for a change for a long but did not know what to do next! It happens with everyone, I guess.
The best way is to find three options. The first will be the one you have a half-baked idea other two are Options B and C you need to build over talking with your inner self.
Do not take your Life or Career decisions on the advice of others.
These are alternatives; let me give you an example. When I shifted careers, my first choice was to start my business; I did not know what.
So, I needed to develop alternative business ideas. I coined three ideas.
#1 for Jobseekers I offer my courses & coaching, and a large audience could be reached & supported with learnings never taught in formal schools.
#2 For Corporates to help them solve many complex HR problems with automation.
#3 Explore Motivational Speaking which is gaining much ground in India.
I kept writing as many thoughts came into my mind and then sequenced those.
Once you are clear on your choices next step is to do some research before you finally firm up your best option.
Now let me give you an example as a job seeker. Say your first choice is to continue with your expertise but change the industry. You come with a sales background in the I T Sector where you mainly dealt with international clients. You find the international business prospect is in a slump. The best option is to explore the Indian IT Market.
So, this decision came through your ordinary market senses. Where you need to do research on which domestic IT sector is booming. This is just an example; do not consider this a career tip without your research.
EdTech is a sunshine industry, and many ed-tech companies have grown as a unicorn in recent times. Similarly, companies that build ad support payment gateways could be another.
You need to do some research to identify which industry to build options.
This brings us to the last step. I call it building the mindset.
“to rock the boat rather than die sinking!”
I hope you got the message. Let me share some data.
There is no better time. If you are stuck in your career it will worsen with time like any disease without treatment.
75% of employees in India are looking for a job; as the market is opening, people are optimistic, and the job market is getting overcrowded with competition becoming tougher.
What is better, sinking into fate to die or rock the boat to start sailing?
Yes, not an easy decision, some planning is required for sustaining the period of transition. This preparation may take some time but shaking the boat can get you where you were dreaming to be. Acting is the only option.
Please share “Game” in the chat box if you find this lesson meaningful. Ciao!