When you first started in your career, did you think about the life you wanted to build?
I’m not talking about the career you wanted, but the LIFE.
I know I didn’t…
I had an idea of how I envisioned my life playing out, but when I applied for that first, second and even third job, I didn’t think about whether those jobs would get me to that vision I had for my LIFE.
If you’re like me, you went through your 20s and even your 30s focused on climbing the corporate ladder and moving forward professionally.
And that focus helped you get ahead professionally.
But now that you’ve done all that, let me ask you: Do you have the LIFE you want? Are you building a career that is congruent with the LIFE you envisioned?
When our career and LIFE are incongruent, this shows up in many different ways…
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Health issues
- Difficulty sleeping
- Excessive eating and drinking
- Snapping at the people you love most
No one ever plans to end up in a situation like that.
But this very lack of intention is what will land you in a job that will literally suck the LIFE out of you.
A job where you create countless decks to nowhere. (Seriously, how many PowerPoint presentations have you created in the last month that actually made a difference??)
A job where the pressure is always on for you to deliver even though you have no real influence or authority over the final decision or outcome.
A job where you frequently worry if you’re going to be the next one called into your boss’s office on Friday afternoon and let go due to another round of “re-structuring.”
But what if you flipped the script and re-framed your career goals in the context of your LIFE goals?
- What’s the next phase of your LIFE really about?
- What’s the most significant breakthrough you want to create?
- How do you want to be with other people in your LIFE – your family, friends, colleagues, clients and community?
Given those answers, does your job align with that vision?
If not, the good news is your current job is not a life sentence.
You can move on. You can do the work to find your next job or career that allows you to have the LIFE you want.
I promise you, it’s possible. I know because I did it. (To hear my story, listen to a recent episode of The SweetLife Podcast with April Beach, where I share how I designed my career around my LIFE.)
The difference between staying in a job that is incongruent with the LIFE you want and creating something more for yourself is the difference between just existing and living fully.
Do you want to live intentionally?
Or do you want to live by accident?
The choice is yours. What will you do?
I would love to explore this further with you and help get your career and LIFE more closely aligned.
Originally published at www.mosaicgrowth.com