The Power of Increased Intentionality in your Career and Business

We've heard mantras and messages which highlight that 'living in the present' and 'being mindful' can help support feelings of gratitude and contentment.  But how can being mindful and intentional be helpful in navigating your career and business?

Living with intention is a way of tuning into your own desires, needs and goals and not letting yourself be swept away by the goals and desires of others. 

Staying connected(being mindful) to your desires, needs and goals and letting that inform your decision making each day, week, month, year, has the potential to create intentional career and business choices that will lead to work satisfaction, fulfillment, feeling valued and an overall sense of being happier. 

As an example, if you are evaluating a job offer look beyond the compensation package and job title. Check in with yourself on the less obvious elements:

• Will I enjoy doing this type of work for the next several years?

• Does this work align with my work and personal values?

• What would taking this position allow me to do in the future?

• How aligned is the work with my strengths and interests?

• Would taking this project keep me aligned with how I want my business to grow?

• How excited am I with this work? What is creating this excitement? Is it from an internal source or does the excitement reflect an external measure I'm trying to hit?

But often, we put our head down in life and work and look up 5 years later and think - where did the time go? I've seen this to be the beginning of the mid-life crisis, or the mid-career doldrums that plague many professionals in mid-life. 

This begins the questioning of 'what do I want'? 'Is it THIS for the rest of my life'? 'I feel like I need to be doing something different, but I'm not sure what'.

Being intentional involves a greater connection to what interests you, what you want from your work, what you want your work to represent in your life and to have not only a short-term focus but an awareness of the longer term.

Once you know these things about yourself, you can make decisions and choices along the way that keep you connected with work that challenges, interests and invigorates you.

The consequence of choosing to not pay attention to these things is that you can get swept up in the vortex of the needs of others - your company's, your boss's, your customers', etc. And you can become disconnected from what will make you happy.

I've never thought that having a 5 or 10 year plan is a necessity. If you choose to have one, that's great. However, knowing the type of work you want to do and the role you want it to play in your life is important if you want to be in the driver's seat of your career and business decisions.

Be purposeful. Be intentional. Tune in and check in with yourself often to ensure you're on the track that's right for you.

NOW is YOUR time.

Ariana

PS. If you'd like to explore how these ideas can help you in your business or career, I invite you to a complimentary consultation. We'll look at what you'd like from your work, what's standing in your way and your next best step to take to get you closer to your goal. Reach out to me at ariana@emergingoutcomes.com or book a complimentary consultation here.