Making the Most of Your One Wild and Precious Life

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

~Harriet Tubman

Are you looking at your future and wondering about the what, where and how of your career? Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the choices, the costs, and the risks that you will make a wrong decision? You are not alone!

Figuring out what you will enjoy and do well isn’t easy, and if research tells us anything, the odds are high that you won’t find it if you don’t make self-discovery a real priority.  You need to answer three simple but profound questions to make sure that you get on the right track:

1)    Who are you and who are you not?

Each of us is unique but also predictable. How we prefer to reason, relate, and act is very stable over time (unless we suffer from mental illness). This is very good news. It means that getting to know ourselves is the key to choosing a career path that will be energizing, engaging, and empowering for us. 

You can take the slow path to self-understanding through experience and feedback, or you can fast-track your self-discovery by investing in a high-quality predictive career analytic that points the way to a right-career. The choice is yours. But know this…individuals in right-fit roles are 45-58% more productive than their low-fit peers, making it much easier for them to become star performers.

2)    What are your life style and vocational priorities?

Finding a good fit career direction is about more than knowing what talents we have to offer. It is also about understanding what we need and want in return when it comes to how our career will affect the rest of our life, and the rewards we will receive for our work efforts.

You can learn about the day-to-day realities of jobs by speaking with people performing them, but it becomes a herculean task when exploring a wide range of possible careers. A predictive career analytic that identifies your needs and wants and points to career directions that will satisfy those needs and wants, is a sure-fire way to get you where you want to go.

3)    What are your most and least preferred career interests?

Research tells us that passion alone is not enough. We can find something interesting and not bring the behavioural strengths needed to be a high performer. This should be a hobby. We can also be good at something and not find it interesting. This is a classic career trap. Finding the sweet-spot between interest and suitability is what makes the difference to long term satisfaction and success.

You can use understanding of your passion, strengths, and priorities to get yourself moving in the right direction, but ultimately making decisions about specific education or career directions is about minimizing risk. It is about understanding how much your preferences line up with the preference profiles of different roles that determines how satisfied and successful you will be. This is where high-quality predictive career analytics really shine. They remove the agonizing guesswork before you commit time, money and effort by quantifying the level of match, so you can make high-stakes career decisions with ease and confidence.

Once you have identified potentially right-fit career directions, you can create a Career Building Strategy with the mix of post-secondary education, on-line courses, internships, projects and volunteer experiences that are right for you. It will get you moving and keep you on top of your game.

Germaine Watts is a thought leader, author, speaker and co-founder of Predictive Potential – a consultancy and workshop/retreat provider dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and organizations thrive. As a mindfulness coach, SuccessFinder expert, and facilitator with the Centre for Courage and Renewal, she seeks to foster connection between soul and role in ways that support of personal, organizational, and societal transformation.