The Art of Choosing the Wrong Career
Do you sometimes feel like you're stuck in a rut? If you could go back in time, would you make different choices? Let's talk about what we can do about it all - in the present.
What will we see in this post
An adult human being makes, in average, 35,000 choices per day; consciously or not. You have just decided to read this text, for example. And that’s why we want to talk to you about a topic we deal with on a daily basis: career choosing. Why did we choose the career we’re in? How do we find out if this profession is wrong for us? And what are the alternatives we can discover and make a living out of our passions?
We have to deal with the career-choosing dilemma very soon in our lives, even before we are 20 years old, we are made to decide the career we will be in for the rest of our lives. And, yes, it is a very unfair choice to make, especially for people who have a hard time deciding what they are going to have for lunch. There are, of course, people who have discovered their passion when they were very young, but if this is not the case with you, welcome to the club.
We deal with this subject every single day, because our mission at Hotmart is to make it possible for people to make a living out of their passions, and this has a direct connection to their careers.
Why do we fail in career choosing?
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We are too immature to make a decision
The first – and the most obvious – reason, is, in fact, the most common among people who have reached adulthood. Remember when you were in High School, we were given many aptitude tests, and we would then have the answer to all of our problems. What a rookie mistake!
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We don’t actually choose
Believe it, it is still very common for parents to guide their children, from a very young age, to make a correct choice – according to their opinion. We shouldn’t blame them: they want their children to be successful and achieve an excellent quality of life. But then we are faced with a generation conflict: young people today have many more career choosing options than their parents ever dreamed of, and this is because of a very simple factor, which is still amazing: technology.
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Not going to university is not an option
This is a process that is so natural in today’s society that we don’t even question it. Without analyzing our education system – which is controversial, to say the least – it is easy to conclude that there is a flaw in all of this: there simply aren’t enough formal courses for all the possible professions in the world. No blogger went to blogging school, right? And this leads us to the next topic:
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The profession of our dreams simply didn’t exist
Technology be praised! It opened up so much space for innovations for career choosing of professions that didn’t exist until a short time ago and are now on the rise! Marketing Analysts, Social Media Analysts, specialists in SEO, Digital creators, affiliates, App Developers, and Big Data Analysts are professionals that were very rare or didn’t even exist 10 years ago. And this is a natural cycle, that will continue to happen as society moves forward.
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Success is a synonym of the corporate world
Or this is what we used to believe in. Through the years, we found out that success is something personal and specific for each person. Some people need prestige, recognition, and a very high salary to be happy. And there are those who think success is doing what they love the most, regardless of the money they make in return. And there are those who dream of being able to work from home and spending more time with their families. The list goes on.
What can we make of this so far? That it is extremely easy to fail in career choosing! And you should not blame yourself for it. As you can see, there are many obstacles, things in the way that cloud our judgment.
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How to know if you have picked the wrong career?
That’s all you can think of
The important thing for you is that your salary will be deposited in your bank account. Of course, paying the bills is very important, but if this is your only focus, you have 29 sick days waiting for that one day you receive your salary.
You complain a lot
Here, you need to be honest and admit that you do complain. With your friends, and family, and whenever you have an opportunity, you say how much you don’t like your job, and how you would quit if you could. First, admit it, and then read on for the next topics that may enlighten you.
You are constantly looking for alternatives
You would really like to do something else for a living, something that would be more pleasant, but you can’t quite put your finger on what that would be. Or still: you already know, but you are afraid of taking the risk since you would have to start everything all over again and this would be very hard.
You are stuck in time
If you have been doing the same for a very long time, without the motivation to learn more, do more, beware! This sign of complacency can be a serious indication that you don’t really like what you do and your comfort zone has been protecting you from this fact.
You lack purpose
Of course, finding purpose in life can be extremely difficult. But if you only work in order to pay the bills, you certainly don’t have a purpose. Money can be a means to realize your dream, but it should never be the ultimate goal.
You can never meet expectations
At this point, you should be very careful and be able to tell if the career you chose is really the wrong one for you, or if you are merely dragging your feet. No other career will be a walk in the park. And if it was, what would be the fun in that?
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How you can discover your passions and fix a bad career choosing
At the end of this journey, we want to show you some essential points for you to discover what your passions are and how you can fix a bad career choosing, or make it right in the first place.
- Have you noticed that when you are in love, you can’t stop talking about the person? Finding out what you love doing the most is somehow similar. Think about the subjects you love talking about, and looking into, and lose track of time when you are reading about them.
- Think about the activities you have complete control over, and you don’t need any help to do. And even when you come across an obstacle, you have no trouble overcoming it. Think, for example, about the activities people ask you to teach them.
- Consider all the options. If you find out you are on the wrong path, don’t panic. It doesn’t matter if you have to start all over again. Many users at Hotmart changed the careers they were in for years to become entrepreneurs in the area they liked the most, even without knowing how to do this kind of business. They learned how to become affiliates or creators and discovered a world of opportunities. Just like them, learn how to become an entrepreneur! There is a taboo that in order to do it, you need a high investment, but this is not always the case. Think about how your talents can change the way you deal with your career.
- Be realistic. Regardless of your career choosing, there will be ups and downs. It is humanly impossible to have incredible days for the rest of your life. And this cannot bring you down, OK?
- Make sure the possible passion you chose leads to a purpose. Purposes are clear objectives that make you happier, more complete and fulfilled. There is no limit to purposes, you can find out you have many if you really intend to pursue them. It may be starting a business that will have a positive impact on the lives of many people, having a family, traveling the world, having a house, or anything that is truly important to you. If your career helps you reach them, it is a strong sign that you are on the right path.
- Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Being able to deal with mistakes in a rational way is an essential ability to evolve and the more experience you have, the more assertive your decisions will be.
