Working Income does not only represent the financial part of our lives, which allows us to support ourselves and our families. It also represents our ambitions, self respect, accomplishments and personal growth.

Suppose that you could freely choose what kind of work you do, where ever you like and with whom you like. What could that mean to both these parts?

It ‘s the kind of question I started to aks myself when I decided to follow the messages I recognised in my Vision Board (see the Blog: The Magic of the Vision Board).

One thing stood out on the Vision Board: I did not want to pursue the career I had till then.

I “only” needed to find out what it was I wanted to do differently, acknowledge the consequences and take action. A task I at first did not know how to approach.

The answer came to me through one of the classes I took while learning how to become a coach. The tool we learned to use with clients was the “Career Learning Path”.

Aplying this learning path to my own situation helped me to at least figure out:

• the elements of my working experience I appreciated very much and did not want to loose in a future situation (international exposure, working with and together with people, doing new and challenging things as often as possible, delivering solutions)
• the elements I certainly did not want to continue and
• the elements I had been missing all along which I wanted to include in any new venture.

The way it works?

1. Take 6 pages of blanc sheets of paper.
2. Divide the total period between the moment you left school/university till the present date in 5 periodes that have a certain logic to you. This does not mean in equal parts on a time line, but e.g. the moments you toke certain decisions that mark your personal and/or professional life.
3. On each of the 5 first sheets, you note the following information per period:

• The exact span of years/months
• The general outline of the professional activities you perfomed during that period
• The specific skills, values, capabilities and beliefs you developed during that period;
• The skill set, values and beliefs that helped you and made you successful
• The skills or beliefs you abandoned during that time
• The skills and beliefs that did not help you and you did not abandon, thus taking them forward to the next period of time.

4. Per sheet/period now analyse which activities, skills, values and beliefs you want to keep or re-intstall, if you abandonded them. Which beliefs did you have that did not help you then and you want to abandon now (limiting beliefs)
5. Write these insights on the 6th blanc sheet of paper, add the professional activities or part of activities that you liked most during each period and add the skills, values and beliefs you miss in the story till the present day and want to develop or re-install.

By analysing the past, you will get a view on the elements that truly matter to you and make you happy and successful.

You have the knowledge to decide how to shape your future professional life and career.

You can translate the skills, values, beliefs and activities you want to continue or develop in areas of expertise that include these elements and pursue these.

In my case, the exercise did not provide a clear cut answer which allowed me to decide on a “profession”. By using my list of “requirements” and “references” as a kind of benchmark every time I searched for opportunities or when positions were proposed to me, I started to make choices that indeed keep me close to the values and beliefs most important to me.

There is an interesting bonus doing the work that you truly enjoy besides satisfaction. When you are happy, focussed and loving what you do, you attract people and work, you will be successful in what you deliver and you will earn more working income.

Are you doing the job you would love to do? How did you find out what it is you truly want to do? What is your experience with doing what you love and the attraction of people and income?

Share your experience and help us to understand and learn from you.

If you want to learn more or need some help in finding your needs and wants, you can always contact me directly. By subscribing to you blogposts, you will receive the next blogs automatically.

Esther Celosse

Follow-it