Assessing what's inside
In the end, the only really satisfying career choices will come
from first looking inside. "What is my inner voice telling
me?" independent of what others think or expect, and "where
does my energy flow naturally?" That's where I'll find personal
meaning and growth, and working from that place is where I'm most
likely to achieve success.
This "internal" self-assessment is essential for achieving
any long-term career satisfaction, even if downsizing or other external
factors have thrust a transition on you and time is of the essence.
In fact, at no time is it more important to do serious soul-searching.
Many tell us an initially unwanted transition forced them to break
from old habits and mindsets and make some overdue positive changes.
In retrospect, they were grateful it happened.
Taking charge
Typically, when we seek out a career aptitude test, we're again
looking for external guidance. We don't know "what we really
want" and we hope an outside expert can tell us what to do.
It's good to get an objective assessment of our abilities. But
the first thing a really effective outside expert or career test
will do is help us take charge of our own decision making and challenge
us to ask, for example:
- What is really important to me?
- What uniquely personal life values do I want to achieve
in my career?
- Where am I and where do I want to go in my life journey?
Only after going through such a process are we ready to consider
the question "What am I good at?" in its proper context.
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