What Are Your Career Goals?

26. Dec, 2009 0 Comments

What do you want to be when you grow up? That is a question we often think of children asking. Unfortunately, there are many adults who are still asking themselves this question.

Very often we allow life to lead us around, instead of us leading ourselves around. Many people today are stuck in jobs that they hate. They get up in the morning dreading to go to work and manage to get through the day. They anxiously await quitting time so they can go home. They covet weekends and holidays.

The average person spends more than half of their waking day at work and works most of their life. We only get one life – yet many of us spend most of it doing something that we hate. Why? Because we need to provide for our basic needs – food, clothing and shelter. In most cases, we are not only responsible for ourselves, but other people as well.

We can avoid spending most of our lives working at a job that we hate by setting career goals. Career goals can be set at any stage in our life. It is best if we set them early, but we should never feel “trapped” in a job that we hate. There is always a way out. The first thing you need to do, however, is know what you want to be when you grow up.

Once you have identified your long term goal – what you want to be – then you can work towards achieving that goal through a series of short term goals. If, for example, you work as a secretary but really want to own your own business, you can realize that dream as your ultimate goal. Your short term goals would be as follows:

Figure out what type of business you want to own
Learn as much as you can about that business, including school courses if necessary
Get a part time job in the business that you can work at while keeping your secretary job
Develop a business plan and save money
Apply for a business loan

There would be many other smaller goals incorporated into these short term goals as well. You can put a time limit on the ultimate goal, say five years, or you can leave the time limit open, depending upon your type of personality. Most people work better with a deadline, but many are self driven. As long as you continue to work towards your goal, you will eventually get where you want to go.

It is never too late to determine what you want to be when you grow up and begin working your way towards that goal. There have been many people throughout history who have realized a dream late in life. Actor James Cagney started painting when he was retired from films. Actor Jimmy Stewart wrote poems when he was in his 70’s, long after retiring. Whether you are young or old, new career goals can allow you lead a more fulfilling life.

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