From a healthy handling of 1000 and 1 possibilities
If we – thinking generously – summarize today’s Generation Y and Z and take a general look at the current issues and problems in the job search, we can observe the following: often it is not so much the lack of alternatives that plagues them in their career development – but rather that The problem of being faced with too many possibilities. We make the world "as we like it" – in the sense of Pippi Longstocking… at least in theory.
"Man is condemned to freedom" , Jean Paul Sartre already stated and noted that the responsibility for one’s own decisions also weighs like a weight on our shoulders. If I am responsible for my own actions, I have to make my decisions wisely – and ultimately stand up for them.
For an individual career path, that’s quite a challenge. Which (career) step is "the right one"?? Where do I want to end up professionally? Which goal do I pursue, in order to be able to look back one day contently on my career? And what if I should "simply" choose one of the countless possibilities after all? Honestly: it’s not that easy.
Where do you want to end up?
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Which path is "the right one" for me??
In order to keep the orientation in the forest of unlimited possibilities, it is important to professional goals to stuck, and thereupon to align my own decisions with it.
I choose a specialized internship early enough to be able to show professional experience after finishing my bachelor’s degree – perhaps do some volunteer work on the side to expand my social skills and experience and consider early enough whether I want to do a master’s degree right away, enter the profession immediately, or even take a year’s break and look at the world a bit more.
I move hurriedly from one decision to the next, many goals lie on my way. This works well for a while. Until I have to stop (maybe exhausted, maybe challenged by defeats or setbacks) and start to look for the why to ask.
Goal setting: In the moment or ahead of the moment?
"S.m.a.r.t." e goals, as we learn from the acroym, are "specific, measurable, attractive, realistic, and scheduled". This formula, which is supposed to help you achieve goals in project management, can also be applied to your own life situation.
A personal goal is attractive when it matches my interests and desires. Realistic then means not only feasible in terms of time, but also in accordance with my individual resources.
It is important to pay attention to this, because all goal orientation in honor: a too intense look ahead distracts from the moment. The attention can lead away from the momentary, essential – and so in the concentration on what should be, I probably overlook what should be now within my means lies. Or I miss the chance for a coherent alternative – a turn-off that I did not even think of on the way to the realization of my own ideas.
"S.m.a.r.t.It is therefore "smart" to deal with current conditions now and then, independently of the milestones I am striving for. After all, my ideas and desires are also connected to expectations that I place on myself (or that are placed on me). Would be "smart" to free myself from these if possible and to turn inward.
Step by step
"It’s better to grow mindfully than to sink quickly," says career coach Svenja Hofert – and this motto applies not only to motivated founders and companies. On the individual career path, "mindful growth" means dealing constructively with everything that happens to you. This can also mean sometimes enduring, being haphazard, or learning from crises and (forced) pauses.
Do I begin to Framework of my possibilities, frustration quickly overcomes me. Then I am disappointed about what has not yet been achieved, what should be done differently, or where I am not yet.
However, if I focus my energies on the things that are possible right now, I will get further. Following the encouraging lines of Rilke: "There’s a way for everything – even if it’s only a small step." Specifically, I can use these phases to confidently try things out and get inspired, as well as Using idle time to recharge your batteries.
Between vision and idle time
Keeping a vision of future events in mind can be energizing. Exhausting, on the other hand, will be working through a checklist of traits, skills and successes to "become" someone professionally. Roles and needs change in the course of my developments. If I ever don’t know where to go, I can ask myself:
- What is within my capabilities now? What is my scope of action now?
- Do my past desires/goals still meet my current needs? Are my wishes current?
We never know what will really work. We can try out and evaluate after each step:
How did it go for me? What would I like to do differently?
Anyway, then I’m back on track!
Sarah Kohlmaier studied cultural and social anthropology and is a certified systemic outdoor coach and mediator. She loves to recognize systemic connections and to enable new perspectives within the framework of her work. She accompanies people professionally and privately through the ups and downs of their own development and is pleased when many a button opens in the process.