3 Ways to Make Sure Your Career’s On Track
A couple weeks ago, Noel Santillan, a 28-year old from New Jersey, was traveling in Iceland and accidentally misspelled the address of his hotel into his GPS. He drove nearly six hours out of his way before fully realizing something was wrong.
The story quickly became headline news. People were fascinated – how could someone have driven so far and not have recognized his mistake?
Turns out Santillan’s story is not uncommon. Dozens of stories have been recorded of people traveling hundreds of miles in the wrong direction because they insisted on following the directions given by their GPS — despite what common sense would otherwise tell them.
It may be easy to stand on the sidelines and judge Mr. Santillan and others like him, thinking that you would never go so far before turning around.
But would you?
Perhaps, if you were physically traveling. But how many of us fail to trust our own instincts when it comes to our careers or other areas of lives?
When it comes to your career, here are THREE sure-fire tips for making sure your “GPS” is taking you to where you want to go:
1.Type in the right destination: Sounds obvious, right? Maybe. But just because something’s obvious doesn’t necessarily mean that we do it. Santillan typed in a certain street address and did not bother to check it. And guess what? That’s where he ended up.
The same holds true with our jobs and careers. You may think in your heart of hearts that you want to be a writer. But if after attending college, you take a lucrative job at an investment bank and continue to accept promotions there year after year, guess what you’re programming into your GPS— investment banker, not writer. And guess where you’ll likely end up in a few years? A banker, not a writer!
2. Program the GPS yourself: Don’t allow a backseat driver to be in charge of something as important as your career. I come across clients all the time who think that they’ve always wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, etc. but upon digging deeper, it was never their dream but someone else’s, usually a parent or other influential figure. Mind you, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of these professions. Just make sure it’s one that you’ve always wanted, not one that someone else has wanted for you.
3. Never activate auto-pilot: Santillan’s biggest mistake was not that he trusted a GPS for navigation; his biggest mistake was that he trusted it blindly over his own instincts. He became so distracted by the beautiful scenery of the Icelandic countryside that his mind wandered and he started to follow directions without questioning them. He trusted an external GPS over his internal one.
To ensure you’re not on auto-pilot when it comes to your career, make sure you carve out time in your calendar to check in. This could be as simple as a one hour meeting with yourself or a mentor every other month or eveyry quarter. Spend some time journaling or brainstorming about the professional direction you’re headed in and whether it’s still aligned with your big picture goals and intentions.
What about you? Have you ever veered in the wrong direction in your own career? What did you do about it? Share your story in the comments below.