Break From a Busy Life To Find Your Dream Job
“Why am I not happy?”
“Why is life a struggle?”
“Why doesn’t work work?”
We probe our soul with questions like these, but the answers will never come unless we take time off from our hectic days to listen. Without slowing down and taking a deep breath, we can’t hear the subtle responses that come from within.
As we get older, questions arise about the nature and quality of our lives. By then, though, we’re mired in the car payments, mortgage and daily routine and so used to looking for answers outside ourselves, that we fail to recognize the simple truth: We need to create space to hear the answers locked deep inside. We need to stop and let them surface.
By taking time for yourself, you can reflect on all you’ve done and hope to do, and decide if you’re living the life you want or if it was programmed for you by others. Only then can you hear your own voice, intuition and inner wisdom. Only then can you tap into the skills, talents and inner creativity that provide the foundation for the work you’re individually designed to do. Then you can reap the rewards of fulfillment, as well as a paycheck.
When you return to your busy life after a break, you may find you’re a whole being again, not a walking machine. If you took a leave from your career and gained insight into what you really want to do, the work you choose when you return may be more suitable and satisfying.
Time is a nonrenewable resource. Regardless of how you spend it, once used, it’s gone forever. The combined power of every world leader can’t change this. So, in the end, the only thing that counts is how time is used. Is what you’re doing meaningful enough for you to be doing it 10 or 15 years from now? Would you be satisfied with your choices?
Ask yourself what, if anything, you’ll regret if you continue in your current career or position. How will this regret affect you and the ones you love? If you’re losing some of your spirit every year, what kind of spouse, parent or friend will you be after half a lifetime? If taking time off stops this downward momentum, isn’t it worth it?
It takes time and perseverance to find the work and life of your dreams. Cultivating the following characteristics will help support you in your efforts.
Vision — clarity about what you want. Describe your vision in detail and picture yourself in your new situation. The more you practice this visualization technique, the more possible, even probable, it seems that you’ll reach your goal.
Determination — resolve to get what you want. Pursue your goals when you’re thinking, writing, talking, exploring, reading and in all your actions. Be resolute that you’ll achieve your objectives. Stay focused and don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way.
Unwavering belief — confidence that stands up to challenges. Other people, sometimes believing they’re helping, try to persuade us to lower our aims, counseling us to be realistic. Successful people keep their goals high and their expectations aligned with them. People may tell you that you’re being a dreamer. Successful people are practical dreamers. They have dreams, and they figure out how to make them come true.
Action — know what you need to do and do it. If a person wants to drive a car, he gets behind the wheel. To dance, he moves his feet to the rhythm. To find a new job, career or better skills, he researches his options, decides on a plan and implements it. Everything requires movement. Move toward your goals.
Focus — stay on course. Don’t stop on the way or get sidetracked by fear or the myriad other things that paralyze people. Even the best get waylaid now and then, but those who are sure of the path they’re on don’t procrastinate for long. They just put themselves on fast-forward and fly.
Faith — truly believe you’ll reach your goal. Know it’s just a matter of time. If things don’t move as fast as you would like or something goes wrong and you get unavoidably sidetracked, remember it isn’t permanent. When you fall off the horse, simply get right back on.