Fancy your job & delight in it too

You may like your job and pull on well with your colleagues, finding them logical and reasonable. And you serve to inspire them. There are many more of your category and also many unlike you. But despite a positive aura that your job may be having, you may find it a very wearisome, exasperating and uninteresting slog. Monday morning blues afflict you daily. So, how can you overcome the miseries of tiresomeness, monotony and disinterest?

The fact is that there is nothing unusual about feelings of fatigue, unconcern and boredom. It does not imply that you have put up with them; they need to be overcome. How do you do that? You can always re-galvanise and revitalise yourself so that you find every facet of your work exciting and pleasurable. In any case, if you love your job, revitalisation of your diminished passion will not be difficult. Here is how you can do so:

· Don’t neglect your health: Gladness and contentment is more a state of health than of wealth. And a good respite taken is half the work done. You may suffer from a wrong notion that everything at your work is okay, yet you could be facing enormous problems. You may be thus ignorant of the fact that you are the actual problem. Remember that happiness originates from you and you alone; and therefore, you should not vacillate on issues related to your good health and wellbeing. Regular exercise, adequate rest, healthy eating habits, an active lifestyle and a positive disposition should be your focus.

· Evaluate & involve yourself: It should be highly heartening if everything at work is smooth sailing for you. But it is essential that you make a record different issues related to your job that you delight in. The list could well include even your seniors, peers and subordinates; in addition, the very type of your job could also figure in the list. Issues related to the workplace environment and the facilities extended to you should also be reduced to writing. Likewise, aspects that you abhor to include commuting timings or absence of work facilitators should also be noted. Making alike and dislike list will help you identify the upbeat aspects and serve to motivate you day in and day out as also issues that have put you off; you can definitely get over disconcerting features of your routine. A comparison of the two lists will throw light on what is pre-eminent and help you discern if the overall situation is fine or bad. Your perception will stand clarified.

· Keep reminding yourself: The list of positive features that you compile should be perused off and on so that it serves to boost your inspiration level all times. An outcome of this will be a tremendous boost to your self-esteem, self-confidence and feeling of security. Resultantly, you will start loving your work, delighting in it and deriving contentment from it. The point to note is that you need to glance at such jottings periodically and doing so will help you to negate the disheartening consequences of negative developments.

· Don’t hesitate to guide others & be guided: The likelihood of monotony and boredom about to creep in to your routine cannot be totally discounted. Well, such a development can eventually be disastrous and hence nipping it in the bud is always recommended. You should focus on maintaining an appropriate work-life balance by pursuing leisure activities to include guiding others in their work. This will help you to evaluate your progress and new things learnt so and hence help you to share your knowledge with others. In a large number of instances, associating oneself with a guru can also be an exhilarating experience; interacting with somebody who has gone through what you are undergoing today and is currently in a position where you aspire to be. Guiding others and being guided by others can both be great impelling factors to perform better.

· Connect professionally: If you join a professional organisation that has people of the same line as you, you will be presented with a plethora of supportive means. Your networking will increase and you will be able to establish contact with new people who are experiencing similar challenges like you. Just like an alumni meet of your school or college, attending organisational meetings as an ex-employee can also be an encouraging experience with support coming in from everybody.

· Take a break: Do you remember the last occasion when you took a break from your busy routine? Most people accumulate their leave entitlements and after some time, allow it to lapse. Therefore, it is always a good time to take some time off to relax and rejuvenate yourself. This will help you ward off fatigue. Even if you are not having problems doing whatever you like, you still need time to take a sabbatical and let bright ideas come to your mind. Indulging in a non-work related activity will facilitate this.

You should never forget that if you seek to be successful, it is an inescapable requirement to first take a fancy for your job and career alike. After all, any work sans passion and love is nothing but bondage. And when you start deriving happiness from your job, your output automatically becomes just right and appreciable. 

Invest in & benefit from your career

Nobody ever will take on the task of unearthing your strongpoints so that you remain in the forefront of your career. In other words, the initiative to make certain that others do not overtake you in this competitive world is yours and yours alone. To be able to do that, you need to embrace and entertain a genuine obligation to invest in your career and manage it. If you do not, you are unlikely to achieve anything significant; you will remain directionless and sans any control over your destiny. You will be plagued with uncertainties and be unable to forecast about anything to follow.

Career investment is a protracted process and necessitates lot of perceptiveness. You should always remember that the final outcome or returns of your investment will be a proliferation of efficiency, more promotions, increased remunerations and a marked alteration to your lifestyle. Your initiatives should be in line with your career objectives and ambitions. Therefore, it is essential that you remain vigilant and clutch different opportunities that come your way and thus progress in your career.

An important point that you need to remember is to ensure that you do not get influenced unnecessarily by what others are doing for their careers; if you do not do this, you are likely to get detached from your own self. Should you not exercise caution, you could fall prey to a ‘career discomfort disorder’ that will cause you to hate your job and become disgruntled. Considering the foregoing, the need to understand your own self better needs no emphasis; to be specific, you should be aware of issues that inspire you. This could be a long drawn-out process, however, when you get to know yourself better, you will be in a better position to decide on the methodology of making judicious investments.

When you invest in your career, the returns that accrue consequent to improvement in you are rather high vis-à-vis any financial investment. From increased likelihood to enjoy earnings for a lifetime from opportunities not thought of at one end of the spectrum to warding off any possibility of unemployment at the other, the satisfaction that accrues from personal progression and accomplishment is great. If that be so, what are the areas that you feel are worth investing? Have you already made any investment and what are the benefits that you have reaped? What are your current focus areas? If you are willing to give the matter thoughtful contemplation, you need to invest in the following as pertinent to you:

· Personal life: This entails creating a good work-life balance. You simply cannot afford to ignore your domestic responsibilities and focus only on your career requirements. Your family and friends have a momentous role to play in your career success; at times when you get stuck, they can be relied upon to come to your rescue. It will be your own kith and kin who will always stand by you and hence investing in your family is surely a meaningful initiative.

· Intelligence: If you invest in your brain power, you will be able to apply to resolve practical issues. The start point is getting hold of of appropriate expertise that will propel your career forward; remember that learning is an unending process. You cannot afford to give refuge to a presumptuous attitude and abandon any enterprise to manage your career proactively. This calls for staying abreast with all changes and nurturing good bonds with innovators and forerunners. There is absolutely nothing wrong in seeking external assistance to find out how your contenders are endeavouring to get to the position that you are aspiring to be in.

· Strengths & talents: This implies utilising them more than ever before. You should become more and more alert to your intrinsic strong suit that permits your abilities to flourish and prompt you to invest in them. You should keep your wits about and note how others are going about investing in their careers; a cognizance of such dynamics will help you take better decisions. However, the bottom line should be to get happiness in your career by giving wings to your fervencies and strong points.

· Networking: Whatever relationships and networking you may enjoy, it is important that you remain receptive to them. The best method is to have your own panel of consultants. You must discern your sphere of sway –where you stand today, the mode in which you are being influenced and if they indeed serve your career interests. You should accord high precedence to establishing a potent network, developing it appropriately and keeping in a dynamic state perpetually.

· Guide or advisor: You cannot let your enterprise and initiative to wane. Given the likelihood of having to manage multifarious responsibilities, you should be cognizant of the need to stay focussed at all times. Your career management measures should thus be an inherent component of all your career related efforts and to that extent, of your daily routine as well. A good guide or advisor will facilitate the solidification of your consciousness of different commitments and offer you different apparatuses to remain resolute.

All careers are vibrant and require a deliberate focus and line of action. You could be at the start point of your career or could have travelled some part of your career journey, but whatever stage you are at, you must engender important metrics – the skill to classify the most important functions of your job and then convert them into processes of growth that can pilot your hard work. In principle, you need to evaluate and control your fortes; develop pragmatic action-plans; and fast-track your development. That is what investing in and benefitting from your career is all about.

Decide on what you want to do in your life & career

Choosing a career is apparently an upsetting task, but the problems get diminished when you have options and choices available to you together with sufficient time at your disposal to mull over them. Gone are the days when people subscribed to a lifetime job belief. Today, the line of work that you decide to take up is an important constituent of your life. You need to discern in advance the place where you will spend half your day and the prospects it holds for you to fork on the basis of your prime abilities and skills.

The above evidently calls for careful contemplation so that you can select a field that goes with your personality and intrinsic attributes; and also afford you the freedom to make a positive change, if required. So, how do you get going? Here are some step-by-step tips:

·  Define & decide what you want to do: The first step should be to find out what you want to do. You must do so appropriate research to determine what goes well with your inherent skills and those that are generally required in various arenas of your preferred work. Taking help from others can also be resorted to.

·  Identify skills that make you do things happily: You may be engaged in some activities; you must identify those that you enjoy doing. This will serve as an important pointer of what you want to take up as a career. And once you discern a potential line, you will be geared up to tone it with your skills.

·  Reflect on things beyond your work-field: The implication of a field of work extends much beyond a particular job. In fact, several jobs can be possible from a single field; and hence you should be able to reflect on your training and related concerns for several jobs. You should remember that the extent of any field of work is also contingent on your ingenuity, initiative and efforts to acquire necessary qualifications.

·  Ponder over allied activities & initiatives: This entails determining what you seek to do and become in life; and the qualifications you need to acquire to attain the same. It will be essential for you to deliberate over the likelihood of switching over to various related disciplines. The need to ruminate outside the ambit of your current or future rights and claims also needs no emphasis.

·  Research on additional qualifications that you require: These should be pertinent to the fields that inspire you. Internet, reading and even direct interaction will help you in this context. Your efforts have to be systematic and in-depth to conclude on the type and quantum of further actions on your part. In addition, you will also be able to uncover the shape of things to follow.

·  Identify people working in similar fields: Having identified the jobs that you think match your interests and inclinations, you should establish contact with people already pursuing similar lines. Their suggestions and recommendations will stand you in good stead. Even informational interviews or enlisting for practical exposure will make your perceptions clear.

·  Examine your preferences in the light of your conclusions: Whatever information you have gathered should be evaluated vis-à-vis your own discernment of and stance on your potential career roadmap. You have to arrive at a well-poised reckoning. Aspects related to the type of routine and life that you desire to lead should invariably be factored in to preclude disenchantment at a later stage; it is always prudent to not affect compromises having enduring implications.

·  Fill gaps by adding on to your skillsets: When you do so, you must take full benefits of your contact base so that you keep getting advice on a continual basis. If you lay hands on opportunities to get a practical exposure concurrently, you must not let them go. This will help you to sift and sieve all unnecessary or superfluous requisites; and concentrate on the essential ones necessary to broaden expand and develop your perspectives.

·  Always harbour a positive attitude Now that you possess the prerequisites for your dream career, it is important that you stay focussed. You must maintain a positive outlook and approach towards life as a whole. It is also necessary that you display appropriate flexibility in all your pursuits and transforming challenges into opportunities. This display of flexibility should not be at the cost of your principles and individuality because most employers appreciate such attributes.

The crux of the matter is that you should venture out to live the life that you have dreamt for yourself; that is how you will make your dreams come true.

Get set for your career success

If you study the lives of successful men and women, you will see that all of them have dreamt big, sought big and got big. Their disposition and conduct continually paved the way for greater success and growth.

You may harbour any professional objectives, however, during the course of your career journey there are several initiatives that will help you attain greater success and contentment. These initiatives will help you understand what precisely you seek in life and facilitate taking appropriate action to make your preferred professional individuality. And accordingly, you will thus be able to get the desired support to keep you going in difficult times. Six prime actions that you must invariably take to make certain that you are indeed on the path to career success and satisfaction are:

·  Disenabling ambiguity: This happens to be the most important initiative that you should be taking, if you want to achieve anything worthwhile in life. There should be no room for any doubt in whatever you seek and what is important for you; and you will not hesitate to forego anything for. It cannot be any imprecise or indefinite notion of wanting to do something different or consequential. You need to get to the core to comprehend what doing something different or consequential implies to you on individual and explicit planes. People fail to instil satisfaction and excitement in their careers because they fail to engage in any initiative to discern what their inclinations, strongpoints and passions are; and find a career that is in harmony with them. They also fail to do anything to see how they are adding up to their problems and challenges. Remember that any successful person who is committed to increasing his or her awareness of the type of personality they want to be indeed becomes one.

· Converting worry into motivation: The initiative to shed feelings of desperation and despair in the face of your professional challenges is very important. What is of significance is to learn to be more answerable, liable and skilful. You ought to keep your wits about to see emerging situations that could be taken a cue from to move ahead in life. There will be several men and women who will confess about various issue plaguing their work and which impact their career. Success will not be yours if you move against the flow of the wind. On the other hand, you need to use prevailing odds to your advantage. It is you and you alone who will have to find ways and means to convert your worries into motivation to bring about positive changes and ensure that you are on the way to success.

· Imposing your boundaries: Having found out what you want to seek, you need to be robust and resilient enough to guard your frontiers; respect your urgencies; and communicate whatever is essential to move forward. There are many young capable men and women who have no doubt in their minds about what they seek to attain. However, when the time comes to take a big and powerful leap forward, they do not measure up. In other words, they simply fail to act. Such inability to act is prompted by several factors, however, what is important is that they should get over their apprehensions and qualms; as also any possible feeling of remorse, embarrassment or unfitness. It is also essential that they learn to be adequately strong to stand up for whatever they seek and if necessary, demand it.     

· Ensuring 100 % devotion: You cannot even dream of being successful in both your career and life without displaying steadfastness. It is possible for you to achieve anything that you set out for, provided you are willing to take risk and play with uncertainties. However, the foregoing does not call for brash actions or obdurate attitude to not deviate from the course once adopted. What it implies is that you should display general awareness of changing situations and calling for assistance to preclude adverse state of affairs. You should pledge yourself to your objectives cent per cent and concurrently learn to be open and amenable. Remember that anybody who knows his or her weaknesses but toils hard to overcome them have more chances of succeeding vis-à-vis others.     

· Expressing assertively: Successful people are characteristically very appealing narrators. When they talk about their efforts, businesses or visions, they invariably arouse others in a manner that they are viewed as leaders to be followed. The very reason that prompts them to do anything is well comprehended by them. They thus are able to have a large support and popularity base. These successful individuals are very proficient at talking about their attainments in a manner that others are motivated to follow them. Successful people are adept at negotiating on any issue and can indulge in excellent PR exercises by sharing information appropriately so that besides creating support, loyalty is also generated.

· Fostering energised relationships: Successful people know the fact that they cannot do it all by themselves; they need collaborators who are established partners. They are also engaged in developing a galvanised and involved society that facilitates their success. While common values boost relationships, the truth is that such relationships have to be based on faith, credibility and uprightness. On the contrary, people who want only to be acquiesced at all times seldom succeed. And more importantly, if you attempt to exercise your authority in a negative manner or indulge in petty politics, the results can be catastrophic for you.

You may have success kissing your feet without resorting to all or any of the above initiatives. But then, your career journey will indeed be a very bumpy ride and en route, you would have antagonised many. And when you finally reach your last point, you will realise that you indeed are feeling miserable in ways more than one. Remember that the road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve your dream. 

Working under stress and strain

Whatever be the environment that prevails at your workplace, there will always be demands and emergencies that would call upon you to race against time or work under pressure. The situation would warrant speedy and apt deliberation. Such calls of duty that are actually performance impediments, thrust upon you powerful and forceful burdens and strains. Needless to state, such burdens are very common occurrences. Therefore, it can be surmised that work pressure causes stress and which, if it has to be reduced, necessitates knowing ways and means to address it. At any workplace, there are bound to be alterations in work routines and regimen; time limits and cut-off dates; and impairments and obstacles. All these situations are a source of stress and strain. But they are restrained by factors like intrinsic snags, distribution of wherewithal and availability of time. And when stress accumulates, it leads to anguish, thereby adversely impacting you physical and mental well-being.

The first step in learning how to work under pressure is to maintain control. For some, pressure brings up emotions that can cloud decision-making and inhibit your ability to deal with a problem. If you are unable to set your emotions aside take those emotions and turn them into the energy needed to deal with the situation.

Before you jump into action you must first evaluate the issue. Be sure you know exactly what the issue is before you try and resolve it. On the surface it may seem to be one thing, when in fact there is an underlying cause. By jumping to conclusions and acting on the wrong issue you may in fact make it worse. Ask the important questions who, what, when, where, why to get to the root of the problem. Once you know what the issue is then determine the priority. Is it a high priority that must be dealt with immediately?

It is essential to have a plan or processes in place for dealing with a crisis. When a crisis arises that puts you under pressure you execute the plan. Each step is outlined and everyone knows what they are supposed to do. There will be times when something arises that there is no plan for. In these cases the best way to deal with it is by adopting a step-by-step process. In the present day world, learning how to work under pressure could also mean that sometimes you have to work without internet.

What is it that you should be generally doing if you discern that you are under some sort of a pressure? First and foremost, you must determine what the issue is and document all the circumstances surrounding it. The next step should be to find out how critical it is; this will help you decide on how quickly it ought to be dealt with. Having done so, you must create a simple to do list for each step that needs to be done to resolve it. And once you know the steps, then it is just a matter of doing them or delegating them. Remember that dealing with anything for which you do not have a contingency plan, the steps that you institute to resolve it should be made note of as early as possible. You can refer to your notes to create a step-by-step plan for dealing with a similar issue that could arise in the future.

The entire procedure to facilitate working under stress and strain can well be surmised as under:

·  Maintain control over yourself and not lose your composure.

·  Evaluate the issue in detail for its ramifications and outcomes.

·  Get cracking with the plan or formulate one if there is no plan and then execute it will all resolution at your command.

You can relieve the stress of working under pressure by knowing what steps to take to deal with any possible adverse situation that can arise. Being pro-active by having plans in place for common issues can make sure they are dealt with promptly and relieve the stress of working under pressure. The more you have to work under pressure, the better you get at it. This builds confidence that you can deal with anything that arises and which can help relieve stress and reduce emotions that surface when working under pressure.

How do you analyse a job offer?

Consider the likelihood of having gone through a job interview and are confident that you will make it. And you do. But there are doubts that start creeping in your mind. Is the job appropriate for you in the sense that will it make you feel satisfied? Are various promising aspects offered during the interview or as enumerated in the job letter true? Should you be accepting the job offer or refusing it?

Under the above circumstances, you should evaluate the job offer and draw your conclusions, based on which, you could accept or reject the same. But, you need to do this with due prudence so that your mind is free of reservations to avert making a poor career choice. The pros and cons related to the following surely warrant serious evaluation are:

Positive & negative sides of the job: You need to ask yourself some pertinent questions to start with. If the answers are all "No", then you have to keep your job search going. But if the answers are "Yes", it is your good luck to have found a job that you have n aspiring for. However, if there is mix of "Yes" and "No", then probably you need to weigh things seriously and take any step out with due caution. You need to be convinced that the job on offer is in consonance with the criteria that you envisaged in the beginning. It is also essential that you are convinced that it will facilitate attainment of your prospective objectives. In addition, you should weigh the perks being offered vis-à-vis your previous jobs.

All aspects of financial issues involved: Nobody takes up a job just for the heck of it. Remuneration is an important concern; and though it may not be high on your priority, the fact is that it cannot be disregarded. You need to analyse all financial considerations for their true effect. And to do that, you need to carry out a holistic evaluation. If pecuniary factors are high on your agenda, you should remember that a couple of hundred additional rupees do not have the capability to transform an awful job into a superior one. You should make your mind up on whether the job is in tune with your personality and wants. All aspects related to salary and allowances to include perks and bonuses should be seriously considered.

Minimum remuneration that you expect: The next stage is to settle on the minimum that you expect. What is the lowest remuneration that you will agree to? To illustrate the point, suppose if you actually need a monthly all-inclusive package of Rs 50000-00, then settling for even Rs 45000-00 will not be in order. You need to establish a bottom line, which, in this case should not, in any case be less than Rs 50100-00 - nothing less, nothing more. Setting the minimum that is okay with you renders your conciliation procedure easy. The bottom line should never be divulged. On the contrary, you should wait for an employer to make the offer; in case it is exceeded, you can rejoice for striking a good deal. If the offer happens to be less, you have the option of saying 'Thank you' or sit across and make your expectations known.

Allowances and perks: Quite often, companies do not want their salary structures to be disturbed. The way out is to seek 'additionals' to boost your overall package. Some ways to do so is by demanding joining bonus: performance linked and time-bound increments; benefits related to leave and house rent reimbursement allowance; and allowances for conveyance, telephone and newspapers & magazines.

Having evaluated the offer and your aspirations are met, you should not delay its acceptance. An early acceptance will send signals of your interest and professional approach. However, if you have genuine doubts, there should not be any reluctance to seek clarifications. Pondering over unnecessarily will do no good. But in case you do not find the offer favourable and decide to reject it, there will never be a second chance. There will be many in the queue who will grab it. So you should take a decision with due diligence.

What is career success all about?

Career success’ is a relative term and it is rather difficult to define it explicitly. And it is all the more difficult to attach a monetary tag to it. For some people, a fat bank balance would signify career success; while for others, being able to meet all daily requirements could amount to career success. There could be many who do not equate money with career success in any form.

It is indeed quite a bit of a task to identify people who would honestly assert that they indeed are fond of their career. There will be few who would not like their career or are inclined to detest their career; but in most cases, they may not be loving their career. Financial aspects apart, career success actually gyrates around contentment. It is all about being keen on and enjoying whatever you do.   

A career that rouses a certain measure of enthusiasm, zeal and contentment in a person can be said to be successful. If a person feels happy in going to his workplace, he or she is surely into a successful career. A successful career is one that makes a person feel happy to go to work each day. It is one that generates pleasure, satisfaction and appeal. And since no two people are alike, individual perceptions about career success vary. And it is this diversity related to concerns, ethics and standards that makes it possible for the world to move forward.

Why do people who are not happy with their jobs continue with them? It is only because of apprehensions related to:

· An absence of career stability in their lives.

· Instability arising because of likely retrenchment or loss of job.

· Inability to cope up with domestic pressures because of reduction in income.

· Problems in finding fresh employment.

· Perceived losses due to withdrawal of perks.

Unemployment is surely a very frightening prospect because it can put you into very difficult situations, particularly finances. And regrettably, whatever claims people and governments make, the rate of employment in our country is pretty high. Unemployment generates helplessness and hopelessness; and which further leads to frustration. A frustrated person will never be able to find a career for himself – a career that has the prospects of being successful. It should however, be remembered that if you are forced into a state that is frustrating, you are always in a better position to re-discover your career and pick up one that assures you of successful growth.   

There are many people who are unwilling to quit their current jobs even if they do not like them because they are afraid of the alternative. That alternative is an absence of employment. . But people who are already unemployed have no qualms; they have an option – an option of being able to decide on the course their career ought to take.  

What should unemployment signify to you? It should indicate the following:

· You possess the capability to start all over again.

· You possess the ability to concentrate your efforts on a new career.

· Nothing can stop you from pursuing your career aspirations and goals.

· Nothing can stop you from becoming an impresario or a magnate.

· You are well within your rights to acquire new skills and qualifications.

A successful career path calls for a vision, dedication and confidence. Under no circumstances should a situation arise that others point fingers at you. Nobody should ever be allowed to comment on your incapacities. Your career path has to be drafted only by you and any inclination to consider that somebody else will do it should be discarded straightaway. You should research well all aspects of a new job or career that you wish to take up so that you are not found wanting in the desired skills or qualifications. 

The maiden step required to be taken by you entails being certain about the type of career that will inspire you to be and feel successful. You need to discern what your professional fervour and ardour are; and having done so, there should be no looking back. Resolution and steadfastness should hereafter be your strongpoints so that you attain success with ease. Remember that the choice of profession that you exercise should be a due diligence activity.

The second step comprises setting career objectives. To be able to transform your dreams into an actual happening, it is essential that you move forward gradually and steadily. When you set career objectives, you empower yourself and concentrate your energy towards the different levels of achievement as also the eventual destination of your career journey.

The last step is not losing out on your fortitude and willpower. If you have an aspiration and if you have an objective, nothing should deter you from moving forward at a pace of your choosing. There will be ups and downs but you will have to be properly geared to meet such eventualities and challenges. You should make certain that you do not deviate from your charted course of reaching a stage that you can you can claim to be what you genuinely like.  

Remember that you have got brains in your head and the shoes that you are wearing have your feet. Therefore, there ought to be nothing that should impede your move ahead on a course set by you. 

Going about career planning

Career planning is not something you do when you are at the threshold of getting your maiden job. It has to be undertaken periodically as you move ahead in your career journey. Most people change jobs and careers; and hence it is all the more necessary to engage in career planning at regular intervals.

You should shed all apprehensions that career planning is a difficult task and hence should be avoided. In fact, career planning ought to be taken as an unshackling and satisfying activity that makes you aware of the objectives that you need to pursue in your present or new career. Some guidelines to make career planning a gratifying experience are:

·     Make it at least once a year: We indulge in so many annual events like celebration of birthdays, anniversaries and festivals together with a horde of allied activities. If that be so, why shouldn’t career panning be on our agenda? You need to identify a suitable date for the purpose. And when the day comes, you should make certain that you are free from all distractions and interruptions. You should focus only on your career – what you actually want from it to be precise. The exercise will gear you better to cope with various challenges that you will encounter in the ensuing period.

·     Take stock of what you have done since your last similar exercise: You should spend time figuring out how you have fared since the last time you did some career planning. Spending too much time on whatever has happened is not advisable. What you should be delving into is the path that you have followed so that you can institute appropriate remedial actions, including doing things differently to derive more happiness.  

·     Deliberate on your preferences & requirements: In this world, there is only one constant and that is change. Over a period of time, even our preferences change. This time should also be utilized to cogitate over different aspects of your life and career that impact you. Your findings should then be used to evaluate your present work and career path. You will be deemed to be on the correct course if your job and career are on your preferred list of things, But if it is not so, then you need to take a relook at your job and career alike vis-à-vis what you want to achieve in life.

·     Weigh up your leisure pursuits: Career panning also entails taking stock of what you enjoy doing when you are off work. Your leisure pursuits are good indicators of your future career paths. You must ponder over the possibility of converting one to a full time activity. In this way you will be able identify your passions that can be given wings.

·     Record all your attainments till date: A large number of people get momentary happiness on doing something great; they then forget about it. And when the time comes to reduce their accomplishments to writing, they simply cannot recollect any. You should spend time cataloguing all your attainments till date; the information will tell you what your strongpoints are; and how and why you need to be in a job or career that affords you opportunities for maximum satisfaction.  

·     Enunciate your career & job objectives: You will need to chart a route, moving on which will bring you career success. You can always be successful in your career, even if you do not have any specific objectives. And if you set objectives, the degree and possibilities of attaining that success is multiplied. Therefore, you need to be clear what you want to achieve in the short, medium and long terms. Having discerned such objectives, you will add another activity to your career planning – a review of them to see if any mid-term corrections are required or if any change in the objectives is necessitated. 

·     Delve into transferable skills possessed by you: Men and women get so engrossed in their work schedules that they become blind to other career prospects available to them. They just cannot hear opportunities knocking on their doors. Every job calls for certain skill-set and you should classify yourself in terms of the skill-sets possessed by you. You should identify areas other than your present work where you can put your skill-sets to good use. The results could well be surprising because you will find different careers where you can fit in well.

·     Evaluate prevailing career & job drifts: What one does in one’s career is his or her baby; and how one progresses is also likewise. This implies that you should be able to find a good job on the basis of your skill-sets in the eventuality of a career slump. To make such a thing possible, you should know how to promote yourself. Therefore, you need to understand what prevailing career drifts are and areas where progress can be expected. If you indeed examine career and job drifts holistically, you will feel empowered to strengthen your position and position yourself ahead of others competing with you.

·     Identify additional qualifications that you could acquire: In the present day competitive world, you should never let go any opportunity to learn. You need to identify newer ones that could boost your career. Therefore, in any career planning exercise, you should devote some time to pin point specific qualifications that you need to acquire that will facilitate accomplishment of career objectives set by you. A little bit of effort and research on the subject will put you wise and very soon you would be looking at ways and means to acquire them.  

·     Explore other opportunities available: A career planning exercise entails envisioning where you stand in the future. Where precisely will you be in the near, medium and long terms? To be able to discern that, you need to study different career courses that you need to adopt. This issue is more relevant if you feel that you have already reached the plateau stage of your career. It is not essential that you focus outside your present organisation; you can well keep your wits about for changes that you can affect within it. However, there is no harm whatsoever if you start exploring other career options elsewhere.

The interval between two career planning should not be too much because of the inherent advantages offered to you. You can derive a horde of benefits from this activity – setting objectives, going in for a career change and leading a better life. You will find that you will be better geared for your future.

Noxious thoughts that veto career success

Do you aspire to do well in your career? Well, everybody does. You ought to be setting big objectives to be able to reach positions and places that you dream of. However, the question is that irrespective of the number of objectives that you set for yourself, none of them will be attainable if there are any negative thoughts crossing your mind. In fact, negativity in any form will prevent you from working to accomplish them.

There could be several noxious thoughts that tend to veto your career success. But the common ones are:

· I am not flawless: Aiming to be a perfectionist is more or less an unachievable objective. That is perhaps the reason why hair-splitters and people who likes to do things properly are generally suffer outlooks of having been unsuccessful. When you keep pondering over issues that you have not been successful in, you invariably end up frown on even your accomplishments. You should understand that every failure is a learning experience and hence accept it as if it is unavoidable.

· I do not hold the reins of my future: Quite a few people tend to attribute their failures to things over which they have no sway. This is otherwise a natural phenomenon, however, since life is not always a smooth ride, it cannot be inferred that you will not taste success. Everybody is dynamic and robust enough to put in his or her best. And when you do so, you define your eventual success story or failure. 

· I can’t set rules for myself: As a matter of rule, there is never anything in life that you invariably or by no means indulge in. You may, of course, do something more or do something less; however, if you frame your conduct based on any such disposition invariably amounts to despair and defeatism. You subconsciously get a message that you are incapable of exercising any control over your conduct. You should understand the vital fact that it is none other than you who imposes rules on yourself and hence any rigidity with regard to your conduct will never help in the realisation of your aims.

· I need a stamp of endorsement from others: The opinions of others vis-à-vis you should never be totally discounted. But notwithstanding the foregoing, the truth is that you are actually not as good or as bad as they feel. Quite a few of our objectives are intended to gain the support of people who matter; and this by itself gears you to cope with any disappointment or botch. You should not forget that it is what you think about yourself is what counts and hence, if you can usher in satisfaction and contentment, you will surely taste success.    

· I think that my yesterday mirrors my tomorrow: A failure after another surely eats into self-confidence but you will keep going if you maintain your trust in yourself. It so happens that when you venture out to play with uncertainties and do not meet success, you will invariably shudder from taking risks. But then you need to understand that if you seek to attain anything meaningful, you will have to take risks. Therefore, you need not overstress yourself with likely downbeat consequences. On the contrary, you should ponder over the risks of not taking any risk to accomplish what you have set out for.   

· My feelings are my actuality: It is essential that you know how to view your emotional state dispassionately so that you are able to separate the truth from plain visualisations. In most cases, feelings do influence cogent thoughts and that is precisely the reason why it is always recommended to not pay much attention to ones sentiments. If at all you feel annoyed or apprehensive, you should cool yourself for a while and view circumstances all over again to make sound decisions. In the long run, it is your convictions that constitute your actualities and hence it is essential to nourish yourself with accounts that inspire you to keep moving towards success. And if you identify your downbeat feelings, discarding them will become easier than before.

The difference between a person who is successful and who is not is that the former has the courage to bet on his ideas and take risks sensibly. Successful people do not get ahead by wishing they had someone else’s job title, a corner office, a company car or a market share. They get ahead the mundane way, by doing more and doing it better. In other words, they pursue their own goals, not someone else’s goals. If you seek to be successful, your commitment has to be of a high degree. Therefore, you need to organize your life around the things you are passionate about and doing things what you love. So, what are you waiting for? The way to get ahead is to start now.

Create an upbeat identity at work

No two individuals are alike. Every person has an exclusive persona that illustrates the entirety of being a separate and distinct entity. People generally regard the personae of different individuals as either respectable and worthy or corrupt and unscrupulous. The label of the latter category is often a result of your poor social disposition – when you appear to them as bad-tempered, cantankerous and snappish. And if you happen to enjoy a reputation of being a wet blanket or a stick-in-the-mud and your appearance does not appeal to others, their detestation increases further. On the contrary, if you are known for your jaunty personality and pleasant outlook; and move around well-dressed, you will always be found to be acceptable to the masses.

The fact is that your reputation is built solely on the impression and impact that you create for yourself. To that extent, the manner in which you portray yourself and the manner in which they read you, is very important. If you receive regular criticism about your personality, then perhaps it is high time that you introspect and subject yourself to a self-evaluation. 

It is quite likely that people are aware of your shortcomings and can spot them in you. Even some traits may not appeal to them. It is quite possible that you have antagonised them in the past by your intemperate behaviour and offensive language. Now, if that happens to be the truth, you need to take things rather seriously and initiate necessary steps to give yourself an upbeat makeup.

If your personality has a classical swing, you cannot rule out the possibility of new opportunities knocking at your door that have the potential of bringing about enhancements in your maturity level and improvements in your life. The question therefore, is how do you transform your personality into an upbeat one?

The change that you should aim to bring about should be such that everybody else should seek you and for that you have to reach out to them. People should want to collaborate with you; and if that is not happening at the moment, then it manifests that they do not carry a favourable impression about you. But you can always reverse that impression. Here is how you can do that:

· Centre your attention on upbeat aspects: It is all about how you view things – optimistically or pessimistically. You may approach tasks differently and that approach is contingent on what your feelings are towards those tasks. If you habitually grumble about your schedule, howsoever busy it may be or talk ill of your colleagues, you will be labelled as a negative personality. And people will move away from you. You should focus on efforts to transform yourself into a positive figure; and the earlier you develop a positive attitude, the earlier you will become a magnetic personality – a person to whom people will be drawn close to. Remember that an upbeat stance facilitates attaining objectives that you set but otherwise keep dreaming of. A positive attitude will put you in the correct frame of mind to realise your aspirations.

· Encourage & back co-workers: The workplace of today is all about team-spirit and teamwork. It is our colleagues and others – both at and outside work – who generally help influence and model our careers. And when such well-wishers speak a word of praise or encouragement, don’t you feel elated? The fact is that there is none in this world who does not look for recognition or acclaim. Now, if that is what you look for, isn’t your colleague also seeking it? You need to be large-hearted in supporting others. Doing that will make evident and establish your sensibleness, reliability, proficiency and efficiency. You will thus be able to generate amiableness at your workplace and get recognised as an upbeat entity.

· Make useful contributions: You will be required to participate in conferences and seminars or make presentations. Such forums are important venues wherein you can communicate thoughts, push concepts and present perceptions. However insistence in any form can be detrimental as also any form of rejection of ideas tendered by others. If you seek to make useful contributions, you should not take recourse to outright rejection of ideas put forth by others, unless you put forward some yourself. That is what useful contributions are all about. Ideas are only ideas and if as afterthought you feel that they may not work, you should scratch your brain to come up with methods to make them work or suggest a viable alternative.

· Make efforts to foster relationships & contacts: You may have a very busy schedule and perennially running short of time. Yet, you will have to find time so that you can meet people. These people could be employees of the company that you work in and others. Today, in a technology driven world, emails and video conferences are extensively used; and quite a few people think that they need not meet people in person. A personal meeting is distinctively better than any other method of establishing contact, just like a hand-written letter has a better effect than a typed one. Meeting anybody in person makes you feel at ease and develop mutual trust. And once that happens, the exchanges that take place are more honest, frank and authentic.             

Remember that everybody wants to have upbeat people around them. And hence, such people will always be in demand. Upbeat personalities will always stand a good chance in progressing in their life and careers. Therefore, when you transform yourself into one, your next move is assured to be successful.