5 Inner Prompts to Create a Meaningful Career
As each week passes I receive more students for mentorship, specifically in terms of career next steps. I am so grateful for this surge of mentees and also not surprised. Because when we show up for what feels true to our heart and when we open the door for what that may bring, opportunities roll in and it’s our job to stay on the path.
My husband asked me recently, “What do you feel your main message is with your mentorship students.” and without any hesitation I said, “I teach them the inner work before we start looking for the outer work. I am not teaching them how to get their next job. There are plenty of resources for that. We dive in deep to the inner work that has my students asking different questions and we build from there.” In my mind, it makes no sense to send my students off to just “any job”, no.
My work is to help them stop, sit down with themselves for a moment, and ask those deep questions like, “How do I really want each day to look and feel?”, “How many hours do I truly want to work each day and each week”, “How much income do I really need to make?” “What work environments do I love- in person, on a large team, small team?”, and lastly “Where are you going?”.
This puts my students in the driver’s seat of their careers and allows them to start tapping into what is truly important and necessary for them vs. taking any job that just comes in. Trust me, I have been in the position to just take any job that would hire me- sometimes this is necessary. But I encourage my students to see it as a temporary stable ground to build from.
For context, here are some of my own examples as I answered these questions for myself:
“How do I really want each day to look and feel?” I want to sleep well each night and therefore start my day with energy. I want to have time in the morning to help my daughter start her day well and then allow myself a few hours for self care (surfing, jogging, the gym, massages, etc). I want to work with grace and ease about 5-6 hours per day. If some days require more work, I can do that. But my goal is 5-6 hours”.
“How many hours do I truly want to work each day and each week” I don’t want to work more than 30 hours per week. If I have to on some weeks, that’s fine. But the majority of my work weeks will be maximum 30 hours. Ideally 20-25.
“How much income do I really need to make?” I came to this number by assessing the family lifestyle I want to create, the kind of self care I want to give myself (massages, surfing and gym memberships all cost money!) and how much I would like to save or tithe to family. This number may change and it should as we become more clear. But I cannot express the importance of finding this number for everyone who is job hunting. This will direct a lot of where to look for work.
“What work environments do I love- in person, on a large team, small team?” As an extrovert, I love big teams but not all the time. It can be overstimulating. I also know that a 100% in office job will drain my soul. I need freedom, space and agency over my day. For me I’ve identified fully remote with the option for in-person time (when I want) allows me to do my best work.
“Where are you going” This question should really be number 1 in terms of importance but sometimes we need to get through the very practical questions (like those mentioned above) before we get to the elephant in the room. I always, always, always, encourage my students to really sit with this question and journal about what comes up for them with no judgement. This answer will change and it should as our lives are constantly changing. For me, my answer is clear and I know where I’m going.
From my own experience I know that when we sit with ourselves and answer these questions we create an opportunity to build a career in a way that we are seldom encouraged to start from. It’s a chance to bring your full self to the roles you take on vs. just taking whatever work comes in. What I am committed to teaching is how being very conscious about who we are, what we need and what our heart truly desires creates a career path that is more sustainable and fulfilling. I truly believe that we are all capable of this and we all deserve this.
