Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge
~ Plato ~
I recently read an article in an old issue of “O” magazine called “Getting Unstuck” by Suzy Welch. One particular statement had me nodding my head like a bobbin head doll.
Suzy and her husband were doing a survey for a book and one question they asked concerned the biggest challenges people face in their work. She said they were surprised to discover how many people wanted “passionately to know whether or not they were in the right place in the first place”.
Gotta tell ya…my first reaction when I read this was…DUH! It seems to me that these days, more and more people are looking for an answer to that question.
I recently spoke with a man who is right in the middle of that exact dilemma and wondering how he can escape the rat race he feels like he’s in. He’s been at his current job about six years. He’s overworked, he’s working too many hours and wearing too many hats, he feels like he has too many bosses, he’s not making much money, and he’s rapidly heading towards burnout.
He’s not sure how much longer he can keep doing what he’s doing. He’s even questioning whether he actually likes what he’s doing or whether he just doesn’t like the current environment. Sound familiar?
He’s considering various options, including going back to school to get a different degree. He isn’t sure he really wants the degree but he feels it might open up more career options.
I recommended that he complete a Personal Insights Profile before making such a big commitment with significant financial implications.
Why did I make that recommendation? Because he’s not sure this new career direction is right for him and I believe that a set of Personal Insights Profile will help him make the best choice for designing his “Sexy Second Act” career.
Five Ways Behavior Assessments Can Help You Find Passion, Purpose, and a Paycheck(tm)
1. Clarity
A few years ago, I invited a young lady to participate in a special project I was working on involving Personal Insights Profiles. She had earned a teaching degree but was unsuccessful finding a job in her chosen field. Instead, she was working in a call center, hating every minute of it and unsure of how to break into the career she felt passionate about.
Her Personal Insights Profile (which included both a DISC Profile and a Personal Interests Attitudes and Values (PIAV) Assessment) validated she had chosen a career path that was perfectly suited to her. Her strongest value indicated that she wants to make a difference and her second strongest value indicated a passion for learning. These top values, combined with a patient and steady behavior style, indicated high probability of success as a teacher.
2. Confidence
The confirmation provided by her Behavior Assessments propelled my client back into the job hunt with renewed energy and zeal. She felt confident about how to present herself to prospective employers. Within a couple of months, she was successfully hired for a teaching position. Several years later, she is still happily teaching and loving every minute of it. She has escaped the burnout of a job she despised.
3. Committed Action
Another client worked in a family business she felt obligated to support. She loved the creative parts of the business but other parts were problematic for her. To have what she really wanted meant leaving the family business and striking out on her own. She couldn’t quite compel herself to take that step.
Her DISC and PIAV Behavior Assessments indicated that she would likely do best in a career where she has lots of interaction with people, lots of freedom to create, and a product or company she believes in. When she saw what she needed to be happy, she jumped off the fence and took massive action. She ended up creating two businesses – one involving interior design and a second one in a multi-level marketing organization whose values and commitment to helping women align with her personal belief system.
4. Contagious Excitement
With clarity, confidence, and committed action comes contagious excitement. When you get clear about what you want, you become unstoppable. Suddenly other people can’t wait to work with you or offer support, ideas and resources because your excitement and passion are contagious.
5. Conscious Choices
I once heard author and medical intuitive Carolyn Myss say that when you become conscious, the choices you have available to you become fewer, but they become much more powerful. When you see clearly what you want, life becomes simpler. You start to make choices based on what’s important rather than on what’s urgent. Because you are happier and excited about the direction you are moving in, burnout disappears even though you might be working just as many hours.
A Personal Insights Profile, especially when combined with coaching, is a great way to start down the path toward discovering whether or not you are in the right place, where the right place is for you, or possibly ways to turn the place where you currently are into the right place.
Want to find out if you are in the right place? Call Coach Sue at 949-212-4345 and schedule a “get acquainted” coaching session to learn more about how a Personal Insights Profile can help put you on the road to Passion, Purpose and a Paycheck!®