Why do we generally think of a career when we question our purpose or passion?

Don’t get me wrong.

Your career can be an essential part of your life but it doesn’t start there. It should come second because:

What leads you to figure out what you want to pursue professionally?

• Taking a career quiz?
• Making a list of your strengths and weaknesses?
• Thinking about your interests?

No.

This is where most of us have gone wrong and still question and regret our decisions.

Most people realize what they want to do after having experienced spending a lot of their time and energy on something else. And sometimes they’re meant to go through those experiences.

But you can avoid finding out the long, hard way.

Here’s what you should do instead.

Imagine your ideal life

When you think of your ideal life, ask yourself how you want your day-to-day life to look.

• What would your routine look like?
• How many hours would you want to work and dedicate to other things like hobbies, family, etc.?
• Do you want to travel?

Then choose a career that allows you to live that way. You’re more likely to figure it out more accurately.

Immediately thinking about your skills, interests, education, and current circumstances can make you cross off an option that would’ve been great for you.

You can unintentionally doubt your possibilities and potential.

Journal exactly what you’d want and don’t think about obstacles or possible financial challenges just yet. Don’t allow these to limit your thinking of what you truly want.

Get clear on the type of lifestyle your soul craves.

It should be vivid down to the last detail.

The desire for it should be so strong that you feel nothing can hold you back from achieving it.

This step is crucial.

You don’t want to end up in a career that takes away a lot from this. And if you’re currently in this situation, it’s never too late to do this exercise and make the switch.

Merge your dreams with reality

Address the potential challenges that may come up as you’re crafting your action plan to get where you want to be.

Unfortunately, not everything you imagined to be part of your ideal life will happen (at least not right away).

It can take more time and sacrifice to reach certain goals, especially the things that seem out of touch with reality.

But it’s not all or nothing. This is a dangerous mindset.

You can combine your dreams with your current circumstances and limitations— at least in the beginning. It all depends on what you’re aiming for.

A session of deep self-reflection

This is the time to think about your current situation, skills, interests, education, etc.

• Where are you now? What is your current status?
• What could be holding you back from going all in?
• Do you have a lack of self-confidence or is it mainly fear of failure?

Look at the ideal life you’ve just envisioned for yourself — but this time, with a more realistic and analytical approach.

Look at it as a timeline and arrange the steps you’re going to take to get from point A to point B.

Don’t look at it all at once without breaking it down into steps and time frames. You’ll get overwhelmed and start to feel it’s impossible. You don’t want that.

Iterate

Remember that just because something didn’t work out the first time, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

It means it’s time to iterate. Look at what worked and what didn’t work. Take inspiration from others. Speak with a mentor or person who’s in the position you’re aiming to be in. Try other methods, try a shift in direction, try adding or re-arranging your steps, goals, and priorities.

No matter what it may be, try. And then try again.

Every time you try and “fail” you succeed. You succeed in getting one step closer to where you’re meant to be.

If you give up, you’re stuck at point A all over again. You don’t move on. You don’t want to feel this regret a few years down the line. For every year that passes, you’ll have wished “I wish I had started/done this sooner.”

I know I’m a writer at heart. And I believe this and prove this to myself every day by writing. No matter what, I will continue to pursue and hone my craft.

Once you’ve adopted a growth mindset and are committed to attaining your ideal life, nothing can stop you.

You got this!

Previously Published on Medium

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