Are You Taking The Best Career Path?
It is the question that people ask before they start, the question along the way, and sometimes the question asked as they near the end. “I am on the right path?” The best career path has many variables. What is your path?
Time Matters
We hear it often and sometimes we say it. Life is short. Your career is even shorter. If your career or earning a respectable living is important to you here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Most paths are fluid. Many people describe career shifts or changes throughout their lifetime.
- Career paths are not always linear. Different than staying fluid, sometimes you may have to navigate sideways, or for a short time backtrack, to get to where you’re going.
- While any career may at times feel painstakingly difficult, staying on the wrong path costs more than changing paths.
Best Career Path
What is the best career path? It is may be as simple as suggesting that it is the path you are currently pursuing. People often express the significance of their journey as providing more value than what they experience after arrival at the destination.
Destinations can change. If you leave New York in a car planning to drive to San Jose, California, you can change your mind in Cheyenne, WY and go to Santa Rosa, CA instead. Doesn’t really matter.
On the other hand, leaving New York, and driving to Tarpon Springs, FL, and then deciding your real destination should be Portland, OR, could be more problematic. The longer you are in the wrong direction, the costlier things become.
If you are a carpenter, deciding you want to be a heart surgeon when you are 45 years old is probably going to be difficult.
So, the best thing may be to make sure you are on a road that seems to support your general direction. Know where you don’t want to be.
Everything else may be just part of the journey.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
