Career Choice: Finding the Sweet Spot

We all bump into roadblocks and limitations in the journey towards discovering and actualising what we were meant to do in life – especially what we were made for, career-wise. In our aim for purpose, we scramble frantically for good jobs, even when we possess higher graduate qualifications.

However, we are often in need of adequate knowledge to aid us in identifying our passions, bolster our interests, smoothen our paths, and push us to make the most of our capacities.

How do you then strike a balance between making a living and making a life? This was the focus of the #VentureCareer tweetchat on April 4, 2017 by @Timi_Tope and @CDNetng.

Creating the Future

The only way to prepare for the future is to make the most of ourselves and become as productive and flexible as possible. However, too many people never connect with their true talents and are unable to identify what they’re really capable of achieving. Often, this is because they have very limited conception of their own natural capacities and never get to explore its full range.

Our ideas and mindset can either imprison or liberate us. Everyone is born with incredible potential for high achievement and fulfillment in life, but we often lose touch with most of these abilities as we get older. We lose touch with our Sweet Spot – that place where the things you love to do and the things you’re good at come together. When you’re in your sweet spot, you live in the moment. You become lost in the experience and perform at your peak.

Attaining Purpose

Finding your sweet spot is essential to your wellbeing and success, whether at work or in your personal life. Be true to yourself. Find that one thing that truly inspires you and pursue it. Everything changes when we agree that we all have distinctive talents and passions that can inspire us to achieve far more than we may imagine. When you discover purpose, you don’t struggle. Summon the courage to go for it even if doesn’t look like a real career.

The truth is: if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never discover your original self. When you breakthrough, even your critics will admire you. You’ll find high levels of achievement and personal satisfaction when you discover that thing that you naturally do well. It will ignite your passion. Different people find the sweet spot in different ways. For some, it’s through intense physical activity, risk, competition or a sense of danger, while for others, it’s through writing, painting, mathematics, meditation and other modes of intense observation.

A Downside

Sadly, our schooling system is built around a very narrow view of intelligence, such that a lot of people undervalue their talent and capability. Yet, businesses claim they need creative and independent-minded individuals. But these people would be products of our educational system where emphasis is hardly on the development of such capabilities. For instance, how many schools teach Dance everyday like they do for Maths? Yet, the intelligence of many students is stimulated through sound, movement and visuals.

Brilliance come in many forms. Being poor in mathematics, for instance, shouldn’t doom anyone to an insignificant life. Academic ability is important, but there are other forms of ability. When people are in their sweet spot, they connect with something essential to their sense of identity, purpose, and wellbeing. But today, you can break free from such limitations. Push out your creative inner being. Put your imagination to work and bring new solutions to problems.

Really, what is creativity?

Creativity is applied imagination. It’s the process of trying to make something that is original and valuable. We don’t know who we can be until we know what we can do. Developing our creative strengths is an essential part of this. Being creative is about making fresh connections so that we see things in new ways. However, you must be prepared to be wrong, otherwise you will never produce anything original. It can be in business, science, relationships, dance or music. However, you must also beware of common sense – the one big enemy of creativity and innovation.          

o    Generate new ideas.

o    Imagine different possibilities.

o    Consider alternative options for every decision.

Find the medium that excites your imagination & explore it to the fullest

The medium for a musician is sound; movement for a dancer; deals for an entrepreneur. Use the one that you love and works best for you. You can’t be creative without acting intelligently. Creative thinking is the highest form of intelligence. A lot depends on the opportunities you have or create, and how you maximise them. Discipline your mind to a new way of looking at your own potential and of those around you.

However, be prepared for frustrations and dead ends along the way. In the end, you will find pleasure and fulfillment when your creative genius yields fruit.

When you are in your sweet spot

When you are in your sweet spot, you feel a sense of freedom and authenticity. Time tends to move more quickly and ideas come swiftly. Your skills match the opportunities for action. You feel no loss of energy, rather there’s complete absorption in the activity and concentration that allows you to forget everything else. You receive more energy than you expend. You also feel more alive and able to contribute to the lives of others at a much higher level. Your work becomes inspirational!

Too late to pursue your dream career?

There is no shortage of people who attained significance in their later years. Most of us are not even close to “too late” yet. Life should not be mistaken as linear with no alternate route! The time you wake up is your morning, even if it is 4:00 pm. If you can still see the chances of making your dream come true, then take steps towards achieving it from now. It’s possible to make yourself younger by making better choices starting from today. We can take ourselves in fresh directions at nearly any point in our lives. If you want to change the world, begin with yourself; then you stand a better chance.

Next Steps

Find A Mentor to help you recognise your talents, push you out of self-doubt, and prevent you from achieving less in life. Mentors open our eyes to new possibilities and fire up our aspirations. They open doors for us and get involved directly in our journeys. Sometimes, you may have to walk away from the life you’ve known to find an environment more suited to your growth. Choose to be lucky. Expect to be lucky. Maximise your chance opportunities. Listen to your intuition. There is greatness in you!