Self Awareness Helps Us Choose Careers Better

I was once asked to speak to a group of high school students on how to choose careers. I wanted to know what they defined as a career, and so we started to list all possible options they could come up with. We first listed career choices that would “make their parents happy”.This was a short predictable list which featured choices like medicine, engineering, accounting etc. We then made lists that the students classified as “unconventional careers”.What made them classify a career as unconventional, I asked them. “A career choice that would make me happy and make my parents unhappy”, said one 17-year-old, who wanted to pursue a career in films.There were a few whose choice of career was endorsed by their parents. The majority said they had to choose something that would be a fail-safe career. Sadly, what we love doing and are passionate about, never seem to feature in making a choice we have to live with for much of our adult lives.Every day, thousands of men and women groan when the alarm goes off in the morning. It is time to wake up to another day they must endure as they drag themselves to work. Most of these people are eminently qualified for the jobs that they do. They have all the education needed to enable them to do the job well and over the years, their work experience shows how they have steadily built their skills. So what makes so many people groan at the thought of another day at work?Dropping engagement scores in the workplace year after year show increments and promotions do not always lead to happy employees. We may not necessarily enjoy doing something we can do well.Without a sense of passion, the job remains a transaction we have to complete every day to be able to pay the bills. When we enjoy what we do, it helps us feel energized as we do the task. It also helps us stay updated about the profession and keep innovating. This state has been described by psychologists as “flow”.We have all experienced that when we have worked on something that absorbed us completely, we lost track of time. Imagine if you could experience such a state at work every day or at least for a few hours a day. Imagine yourself working at something where your whole being is involved; every skill is being used to the hilt. These are pursuits where we enjoy meeting progressively challenging goals. It transforms a casual, aimless stroll into a chase. The journey is the reward.Self-awareness is the first step that can lead us to make better choices in our career. It is never too late to know what gets you into the flow. Even if it is too late to pursue that as a career, it is possible to pursue it as a hobby. Spending even a little time on the hobby can leave us rejuvenated. Do make time to practise your long-forgotten passion. Think about it.