The year 2016 is almost over. Where has it gone? It seems as though the months have just flown by. However, if you are feeling as though your career has stalled or is just not progressing, then 2017 is the year to implement changes and make your mark. It’s never too late to achieve your career aims, but you need to establish your goals and then figure out the best ways to achieve them.
Here at Life Goals Mag, we are all big believers in creating the best life for yourself and living out your dreams, as well as working towards obtaining the best career. Why have a job when you can have a vibrant career?
In order to get to that point, here are our top ten tips on achieving your career goals in 2017.
1. Figure out your true passion
What do you absolutely love? What’s the one thing that you are enthusiastic about? You might have that one thing that you love to do, or you might have a range of passions, including writing, art, going to the theatre, coding, designing, learning a language or visiting museums and galleries. Whatever your true love is – and it can be anything – you can find your true calling and create a career out of that. The most successful people are successful because they were smart enough to discover their passion and make a career out of it.
Life is too short to do something you enjoy, so pick a job that you absolutely love and you will never have to work a day in your life. If you don’t have a passion or you cannot figure out what your true passion is, then experiment: get a hobby and try out different things.
Once you have figured out what you want to do, then set out to gain skills and experiences in order to prepare yourself for your chosen occupation.
2. Plan and prepare
As the saying goes, “fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” One cannot achieve their career goals head first. You have to plan and prepare. Write out your list of goals and include time scales.
Where do you see yourself in 1/2/3/5/10 years’ time?
3. Have patience
Another quote to remember: “Rome was not built in a day.” Achieve what you want out of your career takes time – a lot of time – so don’t expect instant or overnight success.
4. Be tenacious
A successful career isn’t handed to the recipient on a silver platter. If you want to achieve your goals, you have to work very hard (and work smart) in order to achieve them. You have to keep on working hard, even when times are tough and you feel like giving up.
5. Get out of your comfort zone
In order to ensure that you are destined for success, you must not rest on your laurels. Get out of your comfort zone, take risks and dare to put yourself out there. Taking risks and putting yourself out there means that you will be on the route for progress. One way to do this is to network.
6. Stay up-to-date
Be proactive and keep yourself in the know regarding news, trends and events within your chosen industry.
7. Listen to feedback
There is a difference between nasty comments and criticism. Don’t listen to the horrible comments but accept feedback (or feedforward) on your achievements so far, whether it’s positive or negative. Feedback helps us to see where we are doing well, where we are going wrong and how we can improve.
8. Accept failure
A lot of people think that failure is a bad thing. It is not. Failure doesn’t reflect who we are as people. The most important thing to remember is that it is not about failure, but how we handle it. We all make mistakes, but the most important thing is to be resilient and to bounce back, pick ourselves up and try again when something doesn’t work out.
9. Reject procrastination
One of the reasons why some people don’t achieve or do well is because they procrastinate.
They fritter away time when they should be spending time working towards their goals. Remove distractions, stay focused, get organised and learn to manage your time, so that you can be productive.
10. Be positive
It’s all well and good if you have a list of ambitions, but if you don’t have the right attitude then you will not be able to achieve them. Have confidence and faith in yourself and assert yourself.
Take note of these tips and you can be sure to achieve your career goals in 2017.
You can do it!
