Assess Your Career Honestly

Are you happy in your current position? Does it provide the stimulation and challenge you desire? Is there a future in what you are doing, or are you destined to be in the exact same position 15 years from now? It is important to evaluate your current career and honestly consider if it meets your needs now and for the future. You do not want to wake up one day and realize you made a mistake staying in a dead-end job when you would have been happier doing something else. The difficult part is assessing your current career to determine if it is something you want to stick with or if you should walk away.

Does it make you happy?

Do you find happiness in the position you are in currently? Happiness may be different for different people - while some people cannot help but smile all day at work because they find it fun, others find satisfaction in their jobs although they are emotionally draining, knowing they are helping people or society. The real question to consider is whether your career is meeting your needs and providing the things that are important to you.

Is there a future in it?

This is also an important question - is there potential for growth in your position or will you be in the same place in 15 years as you are now? If there is no room for growth, are you okay with that reality? Some people are perfectly happy doing the same thing day in and day out, year after year. However, others want to be climbing a ladder knowing every year they will be in a better position than they were previously. Look around - how long have the other people in your office or field been in the position you are in now? Has Mary been an assistant for 8 years with no promotion, and if so, are you content being Mary? Whether or not there is growth in a position may not be a deal breaker for you, but you should at least consider the reality of the situation and look at it honestly.

Do you want to be where you are?

Picture yourself at retirement age - do you want to be in the position you are in now at that time? What do you want to have accomplished? Where do you want to be? Is the road you are on leading to that place in the future? If not, you should seriously evaluate your goals and what you want to accomplish in life. If your current career is not going to satisfy your long term needs, you may consider making a change.

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