Crossing Your Own Career Chasm

It is the all-consuming question that every human has asked, in one form or another - “What is it that I truly want?” or “Where do I want my career to end up?” Not only have I heard this hundreds of times, but I have asked myself it many times in many different seasons of life. There is this nudge inside everyone pushing them in a certain direction. Whether that is towards the arts, entrepreneurial endeavors, building a family, travel, or running after a career, whatever your heart is pulled towards matters. Another common thing I hear is people doubting their desires in life. There is an overwhelming belief that desires, or passions, should be stuffed down and ignored in order to succeed. This is a lie. Many believe that what they really love should be a side hobby, only invested in from time to time, and that they must work in fields they dislike in order to make money and feel successful.

So, today I want to talk about your positive mind. How positive are you that you know what you want, and that you will get it? Are you aware of how you feel on a subconscious level about your life as a whole? Do you look at your life with the belief that you deserve what you desire - or do you believe it will be a disappointment? And even if you lean toward positivity and assurance of knowing what you want, you may still be asking, “How do I get there?”

Think back to infamous scene in Indiana Jones The Last Crusade. He’s standing at the edge of a cliff, his map has brought him there. Looking out to where he needs to be, and the deep chasm between the spaces, he begins to doubt. Had he gone the wrong way? How was he supposed to surpass the chasm between where he is and where he needs to be? But he knew that he knew that he knew where he was supposed to be. So his faith helped him make the impossible choice, to take a step into the empty airspace over the chasm. Surely, he would fall to his death...wouldn't he? But as soon as he stepped out, a rock appeared. And then another, and then another. Together, the rocks made a bridge for Indiana Jones to get where he needed to be. Where he knew he was supposed to be.

Are you so certain that you were made to be somewhere specific that you would take that kind of risk? Here are a few key questions you can ask yourself on this journey:

1. What do I really want?
2. Do I believe I can attain that?
3. How open am I to receive what I want?

You truly come to recognize what you desire out of life by growing your positive mind. None of us would achieve goals if we constantly had thoughts like, “I could never do that.” or “I’m not smart enough to get there.” or “No one will support me.” And yet, we often have subconscious thoughts very similar to this.

As Dr. William Larkin says, “There is no sense in finding a new job or a new relationship if you take the same discontent with self and the same unrealistic baggage to the next destination. Sometimes you just have to do that to learn, but most of the time, it’s really not necessary and an enormous waste of time and resources.”

If you’re still unsure of yourself, take a look at this.

Recognizing your desires and playing to your strengths will offer you a lifetime of fulfillment and aliveness. Combining your true desires with belief and openness can lead you there.

For more strategies on how to play to your strengths at work, read more here. 

Leveraging Your Strengths On The Job

One of the best things professionals can do to advance their careers is become StrengthSmart. What this means, essentially, is to become aware and intentional about your strengths (and weaknesses) so that you can better yourself and career path.

In this post we’ll look at the process of becoming more StrengthSmart, and the things you can do to remain in the UpSpiral (which we talked about here).

Introducing Strengths

Everyone has them, and many people never look into learning more about them. Your strengths are the ways in which you provide value, define value, and ultimately determine success (especially in your career). Typically, strengths fall into four different categories, and each category can have an impact on your career. The categories are as follows:

• Executing: Getting things done with accuracy, speed, and precision.
• Influencing: Selling big ideas.
• Relationship Building: Centering everything around people (emotions, positions, etc.)
• Strategic Thinking: Solving problems is fun.

Why know your weaknesses?

But, when it comes to your career,  it’s not enough to just know your strengths. You must also understand your weaknesses, or the opposites of your strength; your limitations. Interestingly enough, when you understand your weaknesses, you’ll be better prepared to understand your strengths. Think about it as understanding “why” you’re strong at one thing, and why you’re not at another. A few examples of weaknesses you could try to address, and which strengths may actually be a direct result of that weakness would be as follows:

• Being too critical: Your strength might be futuristic or strategic.
• Attempting to please everyone: Your strength might be harmony or positivity.
• Not being organized: Your strength might be ideation or futuristic

The point is, by understanding our weaknesses we actually become more dialed into our strengths. And when we’re dialed into our strengths, our careers are benefited.

Testing Your Strengths

At most, over the course of a lifetime, our weaknesses change no more that 3-7%. On the other hand, our strengths can be manipulated, improved, and expanded. So, make sure as a professional you are testing your strengths; challenging them. A few ways of doing this include:

• Move out of the comfort zone: Some of our best mental and professional growth comes from being outside of our comfort zone. So, try new things, take on challenging projects, and don’t be afraid.
• Use your mind: Use your mind to look through the lens of your strength. For example, ask yourself what would the {strategic, ideator, activator} in me do here; and why? When you let your mind take on the perspective of the strength, you’ll uncover a different ability of thought.
• Ask for help: Some of the best insights surrounding your strengths will be from those around you and not yourself. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You could ask your boss, spouse, or friends, or you could hire a professional. Either way will give you a new way of looking at and utilizing your strengths.
• Be intentional: Your strengths are only as strong as your ability to become intentional about them. For example, you might have strategy as a strength, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to solve every problem. You will have to put in the effort to harness and fine tune your strategy gift into a relevant, useful, and powerful career tool. So, be intentional about doing just that.

The Value Of It All

When you know your strengths you tend to feel happier and feel good. This is in part because you have a better understanding of yourself, but also because you have a better understanding of how you’re wired, and where you need to invest your effort. The better your alignment, consistency, and focus is on your strengths, the more in sync and in alignment you will feel. It’s remarkable, but you’ll find that your strengths are actually perfectly designed for you. Because of this, when harnessed and utilized, your strengths will actually be able to help you solve any challenges your career sends your way.

You can become StrengthSmart, and your career can benefit because of it. To learn more about your strengths, how you can utilize them to your advantage, and how you can continue to advance your career, let's setup a free consultation.

We would love to learn more about the perfectly designed you.