Written by Jareen Harris, MA, LCPC
Professional success has often been connected to external factors such as financial goals, climbing the career ladder, promotions, and other professional milestones- but what could it mean to redefine professional success in a way that considers all aspects of you? Could there be a difference in overall life-satisfaction when your career decisions take into account elements of your whole life and are not limited to salary and other external factors? What could holistic life success truly look like?
Conscious Career Development and how it Differs from Traditional Career Path Decision Making
Conscious Career Development places an emphasis on value-based career choices. Many times professionals make career related decisions in a “vacuum” without considering all aspects of their lives. Career growth and planning has traditionally been viewed as an area of life that exists on its own and has not fully taken into consideration the fact that our work is a part of a larger system of interconnected parts. This means, our work schedule, salary, job responsibilities, time commitment, and travel time all have a great impact on other areas of our lives (i.e. family life, self-care time, mental and physical well-being, etc.).
When we consciously craft our career and career trajectory, we have clarity around personal values which allow us to make decisions that do not require us to sacrifice greatly in other life areas of importance. Since conscious career decisions are based on values, it makes sense that the first place to start would be to identify what your unique values actually are in your life currently.
Identifying Personal Values to Inform Career Decisions
What do you value? It may seem like a generic question, but when you take the time to truly and curiously consider this prompt, it can be quite thought provoking and eye-opening! When contemplating values, we want to get as specific as possible. Yes- family, health, and career are values of many- but zooming in a bit more can be crucial in understanding how your life/career currently aligns with your values and what may potentially need to change going forward.
Here’s a value exploration resource that can be a helpful starting point as you work to gain value clarity. As you explore the categories of family, intimate relationships, parenting, friends, leisure, and more, take the time to consider what specifically within these categories matters to you. Ask yourself, “How do my career choices shape and impact these areas of my life?”.
Understanding your values will support you in making decisions that honor the full ecosystem of your life. When we make career-based decisions that do not factor in other meaningful areas, we can soon begin to feel the ripple effect that this has on our life as a whole. For example, one might dream of holding a C-Suite position within her company and may take on many work responsibilities to support her chances of attaining this; however, without zooming out and fully considering the time and energy commitment, it is likely that the impact that this will have on other valued areas of her life will be unrealized until serious challenges arise.
Conscious career decision-making emphasizes the importance of making career decisions proactively and thoughtfully. This helps to avoid the unpleasant ripple effect of “tunnel vision” career choices that do not always allow you to make sense of your life in a holistic way.
It’s Never Too Late to Redefine Your Meaning of Success
As you’ve read through this brief intro to conscious career development, I’m hopeful that you may be opening up to the idea that career success is not something that stands alone. It is one component of life success and one’s overall life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is a result of how well our lived experiences align with our identified personal values. When you set the intention to live life consciously and mindfully, it positions you to not only identify values but to assess if your career and related goals support you in embodying and honoring the full scope of your values.
Remember- your career choices can have a profound impact on your well-being, relationships, contributions, and day-to-day life. Yes, blindly striving to climb a career ladder can have negative consequences; however, professional ambition can be a fulfilling quality when it is rooted in personal sustainability and deep awareness of how various areas of your life interact with one another.
In the spirit of conscious decision-making, I invite you to take a moment to reflect on your current professional role and career goals. Ask yourself- Where am I now in my career? How are things working out as a whole? How fulfilled do I feel in my current role? Where do I see myself within the next 2, 5, or 10 years of my life and career? How satisfied am I with other life areas outside of my career? Are there any changes that I need to consider? Reflect as needed!
Happy planning and much holistic success to you!
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