5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Selecting A Career

This post was most recently updated on July 30th, 2017

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Selecting a career path can be a daunting process for everyone. For those who don’t know their interests and their strengths, it can be even more troubling. Unfortunately, most people spend majority of their time planning vacation and which clothes to wear rather than trying to figure out which career path they want to take.

But there are some people who are totally unaware of how to search for a suitable career path and the process can feel like going nowhere.

If you ever faced such problems while selecting a career path, here are the some questions you need to ask yourself, answers of which can make a huge impact on your future.

Am I clear on my path ahead?

This is the first question you need to ask yourself.  Most career decisions get wrong because we are not clear on what we want few years ahead on the road. We make decisions based on temporary knowledge. It’s time we start focusing on long term visions. You are going to spend more than 30 years working so make sure you are clear on your path ahead. Does the future in your selected field look promising? Will you be happy pursuing it for entire life?

What value do I want to provide people?

Of all the concerns people have for selecting their career, very few people focus on the value they want to bring to this world. The appreciation and progress of your work will 100 percent depend on the value you bring to the table. In case of job, it means value to your organization and in business; it means value to your customers. Think of last time when you provided a huge amount to someone. It will be definitely because of the amount of value they provide to you that you are willing to pay them this huge amount. Think of how you will help maximum number of people through your work.

How do I want to be remembered?

We all remember Steve Jobs and Mahatma Gandhi for their work but how do you want to be remembered? Will people think of you when they use your product or service? Will people miss you when you leave that place? Will you be indispensable in your work ethic? It all matters for a long and successful career. Keep this in mind when you select any career for short term success.

Am I ready to bear the pain of discipline?

It’s not enough to only select a career. There is a famous saying,

“What got you here won’t get you there.”

This is absolutely true when it comes to career. Often people achieve one milestone and they think they are genius and then they stop working like before but the truth is, it requires even more amount of sincere effort and dedication to get ahead than before. And it takes tremendous amount of discipline to work and may be take few years to achieve what you want. Are you ready to bear the pain of discipline to achieve what you want?

Who will cry when I die?

The correct way to look at a career is this,

“When you select a career, it not only affects you but many people who depend on your work.”

And you are going decades in your field. Do you want that work to be called mediocre or okay or do you want to call it a masterpiece? Ask who will benefit the most from your work and how can you provide mind blowing service which they can’t even imagine in their dreams. That is how you select a career.

There is no correct way to select a career but a career based on your true values with a mission to helping mankind can be the most rewarding and history has only been made by those who see their work in that way.

This article first appeared on Lifehack.