Dear Readers! The following post is part of the series “The Dream Job is No Accident” by Doria. Today, you can read Part 2. You can find the previous articles using the search function under “Dream Job Series”. The upcoming posts will be published weekly on the blog. Enjoy reading and working on it!
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On the job market, it’s often easier to identify what someone cannot do rather than what they are good at. We tend to focus too much on mistakes, which is not very helpful.
What’s fascinating is that this wasn’t an issue when we were children. Think about it: Between the ages of 1 and 3, we learn more than we ever do later in life. If you think school or university is tough, that’s nothing compared to this period. We learn to control our bodies, to walk and jump, to speak one or even several languages, and to discover the world. And it works! Simply because no one tells us it can’t be done. By the time we reach elementary school, the focus starts to shift to errors. Perhaps you remember learning to write. When a child first writes, their whole body is involved, full of energy and joy at creating something new. Then an adult comes along and says, “The second curve of the ‘M’ isn’t as nice as the first one!” Bravo! And that’s where it begins; we lose sight of what we’re doing and learn to focus on mistakes from the start. This mindset continues to affect us today, always looking at problems rather than moving us forward.
Another phenomenon is the adoption of collective beliefs: Why do we believe that it’s impossible to find a job after the age of 50? Or that having children hinders a career? These are societal fears and may have nothing to do with you personally.
Your dream job should not remain a myth. Therefore, an important step for you is to first question the myth that job prospects always become bleaker. This is just a belief you may have adopted somewhere along the way. It’s okay, it happens to all of us at some point. But please get rid of it as quickly as possible.
The 100% Question
Whenever I encounter a problem (I’m not free from beliefs either), I do the following: When I start a new project and meet someone who tries to convince me that it won’t work, I praise Byron Katie. She wrote the book “The Work,” born out of her own dream. She works with people and asks specific questions. One of these questions I always take to heart:
Can you be 100% certain that it won’t work?
Every time, I reflect and ask – 100%? It’s a powerful number that I rarely reach. The only certainty is that we will die one day, nothing else. So, if I cannot affirm this 100%, I ask myself exactly one question:
HOW can it work?
For me, the word “How” is the most important. So, never let anyone convince you that you’re not good enough. Often, we just need an idea of how it can still be possible. Then we can take the next step.
By the way, the fact that dream careers are possible despite adverse circumstances is shown by countless examples from life: The Beatles were said to have music that didn’t fit the times. Walt Disney was thought not to be creative enough. Meg Ryan was afraid of speaking in public but found out that she was fine in front of the camera. These stories prove that EVERYTHING is possible. So now, one more question for you: Can you be 100% certain that you won’t find a dream job? If you answer this question with “no,” you’ve come a significant step closer to your dream job! Congratulations!
YOU decide what you think, no one else. Application tools and secret recipes for the dream job work best when we eliminate limiting beliefs.
Photo by Floris Andréa on Unsplash
