How To Know Who You Are And Where You Want To Go
Discover easy things you can do to know who you are and where you want to go.
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According to Viktor Frankl, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.” It is necessary, if you want to live a blissful life, to know who you are and where you want to go. Audrey Hametner will show you three easy steps you can take to figure it out.
Audrey Hametner is the Founder and CEO of the career coaching practice, The Bedrock Program, which focuses on helping Teenagers & Young Adults become the person that they want to be and can be.
Having a clear understanding of who you are and where you are going is no easy feat. There are constant pressures and advice that may be coming at you from any angle.
Well-meaning people ask questions like, “What is your passion?” And If you don’t have one, then they want to know, “Why not?”
If you are like most, you may have social pressures that are pushing you into a direction that just doesn’t feel right. You may not know exactly why it doesn’t feel right, only that it isn’t a fit.
It could be a family business, or a profession that is deemed “The best way to make money in the future”. What do you do if you just have zero interest in it?
Or it could be a friend telling you he/she will be the next big blogger with millions of followers, endorsements which yield millions and total freedom.
You just keep feeling worse. You don’t want to just make money but at the same time, you’re afraid that pursuing a dream or passion will leave you struggling financially.
The real situation here is that these well-meaning attempts to help, do not address the real issue. And the real issue is that you feel lost and have no real direction.
You feel like you want a career path that you can believe in and feel good about and one that won’t leave you regretting your choices ten years later. The truth is, there are so many opportunities to succeed and the routes to success are as individual as there are people.
And it is not as hard as it may seem when you look inward for your answer and not allow yourself to be driven by others’ well-meaning intentions.
The three things below will help keep you true.
Start with the end in mind
Take the simplest and most effective approach to do this.
Take a minute to assess what your ideal life could look like in the future. Not just your career and work life, but the entire picture.
Do you see yourself in a big house, apartment or small cottage style home?
Does the big city grab you? Or do you prefer a quiet village where everyone knows each other and the community is a large part of the equation? It may sound strange, but future pacing your ideal life can open your mind to some unexpected insights about how you want others to see you.
It can also help you start to realize things like, how much your reputation matters, or not. You will gain insights into how much appreciation or spotlight you would truly like for your hard work, and if you would prefer to be a silent worker just getting on with things.
All of these will help you assess which characteristics and skills are important for your future.
Planning the path
Once you have a good long-term vision, take a mental step back and look at what it could take to get you there. Plan out at least two possible paths backwards. Sounds strange, but if you can imagine where you want to end up, it is easier to imagine how you got there and work backwards.
This can be done through finding profiles of other people who hold those positions, that you look up to, talking to them about their experiences or reading their books. Either way, the process of exploring from this angle will help you structure your thoughts and therefore structure your ideas and keep you thinking of the positive opportunities for what is next.
As you move forward in your planning, one important thing to keep in mind is that no career path is linear. There are so many ways to make your version of success, and that path for you needs to be one that you can follow as you grow and learn more on the journey.
Allow for changes and pivots as they are presented. If it feels right to you and if you see that it still works on guiding you to success, then keep going. If not, you can identify what you need to be doing more of and what needs to be changed.
Staying the course
Many leaders and successful people in life have found their way by allowing themselves to be open to new and wonderful opportunities.
It is up to you to keep your eyes on your prize to ensure that each pivot brings you back to where you want to go. And when you are feeling lost, confused or you start to think that you have strayed off course, stop and take your mind back to what you want.
Then plot out where you are and what it could take to get you back to your goals – old or revised – and allow the cycle to continue. These initial starts to finding out who you are and where you want to go will ensure that whatever path you choose is one that is right for you.
In truth, the old saying is true. Follow your dream and do something that brings you joy. Having the focus and ambition allows you to enjoy what you do and this excitement and enthusiasm in work will yield you the satisfaction of doing great work and the right amount of recognition for the work well done.
If money is what you seek, you will ask for the raise, or build your own empire and it will come. If you are after the recognition, than that will be your just reward, because the package that you work towards will be the that goal you are already working towards.
In the end, you want to know that you have been reaching for your star and don’t let anyone take away your focus or dream.
