Let Mindfulness Guide Your Career Choice

Some careers are chosen carefully, and some can feel like they’re thrust upon you.

 Mindfulness can help you in choosing a career because it makes you fully aware of what you want to do professionally, and it keeps you from settling for a position that’s not a good match.

 Many people feel they don’t have a choice when it comes to deciding on their career. They settle for whatever comes their way. This may be because they feel they can’t do any better, or they fall for a feeling of scarcity, which means they fear that if they don’t accept what’s offered to them, they might not be offered anything again.

 If you view your career as an important pursuit that can lead to many opportunities, you will pick one that’s compatible with who you are — with your authentic self. You’ll know to hold off on taking whatever comes your way.

 If you’re offered a position that meets your expectations, then accepting it is perfectly reasonable. But if you’re experiencing inner conflict, which you can know through Mindfulness, you’re better off declining the offer.

 Mindfulness is being fully present in the moment. It allows you to know when something doesn’t feel quite right, and that you needn’t doubt what you’re feeling. Mindfulness helps you know if it’s the right choice to either accept something that feels right, or say no to something you feel ambivalent or uncomfortable about.

 Here are more ways to apply Mindfulness when making a career choice:

Gauge how you feel in the moment.

Make sure you are exercising present moment awareness in your decision. This means that you gauge how you feel the moment something is offered to you.

Know if the timing is right.

Ask yourself if this career opportunity serves your well-being right now.

Examine your physical reaction.

Be aware of any bodily sensations you might be feeling, like fear or anxiety, when considering making a career choice.

Determine fit with personalities.

Do you perceive the person who’s offering you a job as intimidating, pressuring, or pushy?

Know if you’re treating it as a stopgap.

Can you see yourself being in the career that’s offered to you for a long period of time, or is this a temporary position?

Reveal whether your motivation is fear-based.

Are you considering making a career choice out of a fear of the future, or do you trust that your decision is a wise choice in the present, and will also be down the road.

Recognize the potential to shine.

Will this career choice give you an opportunity to bring the best of yourself forward, and allow you to utilize your inherent talents and capabilities?

Decipher how you feel about the opportunity.

Do you feel you’re settling for second best, or that you won the lottery by receiving this job offer?

Intuit whether it will make you happy.

Will this career choice make you happy, or will you have to talk yourself into going to work every day with a good attitude?

Confirm it’s in harmony with your true self.

How will this career help you be your most authentic self? Does it call to who you truly are today?

 Mindfulness will help you when it comes to making one of the most important decisions of your life — choosing a career. Many people embark on a career against their better instincts, and end up regretting their decision. The good news is that, if you make the wrong choice, you can change careers and don’t have to remain somewhere that’s incompatible with your authentic self.

 Just be sure that when choosing your next career you make your decision fully aware of how you feel in your entire being. If there’s even the slightest indication that something doesn’t feel 100 percent right, take the time you need to ask yourself any of the questions above.

 Choose your career mindfully, and greatness will result.

This guest post was authored by Ora Nadrich

Ora Nadrich is founder and president of the Institute for Transformational Thinking and author of Live True: A Mindfulness Guide to Authenticity, also available as an audio book here. A certified life coach and mindfulness teacher, she specializes in transformational thinking, self-discovery, and mentoring new coaches as they develop their careers. Contact her at theiftt.org.