|
If you want success in any area of life, goal setting is an extremely important way of ensuring your success, and this includes planning for a career change.
Some people stay clear of setting goals because either they believe their dreams are way out of reach, or they think they are no good at setting goals (they've done it before and it didn't work). Neither are true. In the former case there is a lack of self belief. In the latter, it may be that in the past they have set unclear or unrealistic goals.
Also, your goals need to be truly motivating. They should get you out of bed very morning and ensure that you are determined to overcome any obstacles to achieve them. If your goals are not exciting enough, you will find it difficult to achieve them.
It is also wise to remember that goals can be flexible; if your goal is not working out, and you have done everything that you said you would do to achieve it, it may be that it just needs tweaking. People sometimes give up on a goal because their actions are not producing the results they thought they would. All this means is that you need to adjust your actions, or make your goal a little more achievable.
Before you begin setting your goals, you need to start with exactly where you are. This may sound obvious, but many people reach for goals without taking into consideration the reality of their current situation. You wouldn't plan a journey from anywhere other than where you are now, would you?
Being aware of who you are and where you are in life will give you a good starting point for you to start setting clear, specific and actionable career goals that will move you forward from where you are right now.
First of all, get really clear about who you are: What are your values? What do you enjoy doing? What are your skills? How would your friends describe you? What were you doing when you felt most fulfilled and yourself? What qualifications do you have? Write all these things down.
Having done this, now project yourself forward to a year's time, and then five years' time. What kind of career can you see yourself in? Does it fill you with excitement? Does the thought of it make you smile? If not - keep thinking.
When you have a clear idea of what you want, then is the time to start getting specific. Contrary to what you might think, having a vague goal does not give you more options - it just makes it unclear what you are aiming for, and you won't see it. If you were aiming for a target with a bow and arrow, you'd need to be able to see it clearly, right?
Write down all the things you want in your new career. Where do you want to work? What will your environment be? What kind of company do you want to work for? What kind of office or work space? What are your colleagues like? What will you be doing every day?
See, hear, smell and taste it! Feel how you would feel if you had this new career. Imagine every detail, even down to the colour of the walls in your new office!
By doing this you are calling your subconscious mind into play by allowing it to start looking for opportunities, and creating ideas that will fulfil your dream.
Next, write down a statement that will be true when you have found your dream career. This should include all the important elements that you want out of your career, such as your job role, your income, the company you work for, where you work etc. Put this up on your wall so you can see it every day.
You may need to do some research now, and find out what you need in order to get from where you are now to this statement you have just written down.
Write down each step, working backwards from this statement, so you can clearly see what needs to be done at each stage of your journey. Think about what each step entails and what actions need to be done in preparation for each step. For example, if one of your steps is to write to all the companies you would like to work for, you might want to put in the previous step of researching each company, and finding out who to write to etc.
Work out how much time each step will take, bearing in mind how much time you have available. Once you have your plan of action, start working it!
Aim high with your goals. Remember that it is far better to aim high and miss occasionally, than to aim low and hit your target every time!
|
I will then send you a freshly written newsletter with articles, quotes and useful links once a week. You can also contribute to this newsletter and have your own article published. Enter your details below you and will be taken to a page where you can download your ebook and start your email consultation!
