I hope you guys are as excited as I am today! I have just released the very first Episode of The Stress-Less Career Show and I am so glad it is finally here. I teased last week that this first month of the year, my brand new show about being your best self in your career would begin by discussing planning so that we can all start 2019 feeling confident and excited about what this new year has in store for us. So we are kicking off The Stress-Less Career Show by talking about the first step in planning: setting intentions.
I talk to countless people about their professional lives and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone tell me, “Oh, I just kind of fell into this job.” Those same people who tell me this, often, follow it up later by mentioning just how stressed out they are all the time.
We all know the story. We fall into one job right after college, get some experience in that role and realize we don’t really like that job. So, we use that experience to find another job in that field at another organization in hopes that it will be different this time, but we end up unhappy there too. This cycle continues until suddenly five, ten or even twenty years have gone by and we are well into a career we didn’t even want to begin with!
We spend ONE THIRD of our lives at work! If you are spending one third of your life doing something you just fell into and don’t even want to do, it is no wonder you are stressed out all the time! Worse, chances are that you are bringing that stress home with you to your family and friends. All of this stress because we just fell into this job. That is why setting an intention in your life and your career.
When I ask people what their intentions are in their careers, so many people just have one: I need to earn more money. While more money can be an intention, the bottom line is that money cannot buy you peace of mind. A study was done recently that says that after you reach about $75000 a year in salary, an increase in your annual salary doesn’t make a significant difference in your happiness (look it up!).
Yes, money can buy you a massage, and food on the table. That is great. However, that partner of your dreams, that sense of joy and happiness for life? Money is never going to buy you the things that fuel your soul. You have to go beyond just the money intention.
Setting your intentions is incredibly important - especially now at the beginning of a new year - but you can take it one step at a time. You can start out by just waking up in the morning setting your intention for the day. Or you can set a weekly intention. Monthly, quarterly, annual - you can even take a look at what you want to get from this life while you are on this earth and set your life’s intention.
Since it is the new year, I like to think about my intentions for the year in all the different categories of life. Often at his time of the year, everyone is so focused on the intentions that they have for their body.
“I’m have to lose weight and hit the gym and eat right and..”
I invite you this year to take a different approach and focus on your career intentions. Money may be a part of your intentions, but go beyond that and consider what you want your career to make you feel. What do you want to have? Who do you want to work with? What is the real intention that will drive your decisions?
When you create that intention for the new year, it creates a guiding beacon of light on your path. You can use that intention and ask yourself if that new job offer or relationship is going to lead you to the intention you have set in your life or career. If the answer is yes, go for it and give it everything you’ve got! If the answer is no, ABANDON SHIP! Not doing so is how we “fell into” our jobs before.
This is 2019 and in 2019, we are leaving unintentional career paths in the dust.
If you are having trouble connecting to your intentions, you’re in luck! I’m bringing back my free online training, How to Find Work That Fills Your Wallet AND Your Soul, on Wednesday January 23rd at 1 PM. During this interactive webinar, you will learn how to step into your dream career and know if your next job is right for you! You can learn more and register here. Hope to see you there!