3 Questions to Determine Whether You’re on the Right Career Path
Back in August, Cara Delevingne sent shockwaves around the internet by announcing that she would be leaving the modeling industry. “Modeling just made me feel a bit hollow after a while,” she told the British daily newspaper The Times. “It didn’t make me grow at all as a human being. And I kind of forgot how young I was… I felt so old.” She was stressed out 24/7, didn’t like how she looked (which is just crazy for us to imagine), and even developed a psoriasis outbreak from all the pressure. So, even though she’s already become one of the most successful models in the world at just 23 years old, she knew she needed to switch paths.
Like Delevingne, it’s normal to ask yourself, “Am I on the right track?” But how do you come up with an answer? These questions will help you get to the bottom of this often-daunting topic:
1. Am I learning and growing? No matter what job or industry you’re in, you should always be learning. Whether it’s developing a brand new skill or strengthening an old one, learning is a sign that there’s still more to gain in your role. Once you lose your desire to grow, that’s a sign that you might need to make a change.
2. Do I have good ideas? When you’re passionate about something, you think about it, you want to make it better, you want to practically breathe it. And when you think about something, naturally you come up with some ideas along the way. Now, we know your creative juices won’t be flowing all day every day, but you should still feel like you have some ideas to contribute in general. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, it means you still care and that you’re interested in improving your job or your company in the future.
3. Do I feel accomplished at the end of the day? Again, we know you’re not going to hit the pillow every night with a huge smile on your face, but you should at least feel this way pretty often. You want the sense that you did something useful, that you did something you know is going to impact or help someone else. If you go to sleep thinking about that, then it likely means you’re going to wake up excited for what you’re going to accomplish next.
This article was originally published on Levo League by Erica Murphy.