There is an old saying that goes something like, “if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will keep getting what you’ve always got”. The thing is, once you’ve done a thing repetitively, whether it’s negative or positive, it will become a habit. Forming new habits is the first law of cleansing your career karma.
Habit, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.” So, the first step in cleansing your career karma is to identify those negative patterns or (habits) and replace them with positive ones. Easier said than done, I know, but it is a process that you must not skip, so here are some tips.
Results of a 2010 survey, suggest that more than 45% of employees are not satisfied with their jobs. This can be due to a number of reasons, lack of growth opportunities, pay, or just sheer dislike of the job itself. So, it is more than likely that you will fall into this category. If you are currently unemployed, then it is reasonable to believe that you are dissatisfied with your current position. So, if that is the case, you need to explore the reasons behind your dissatisfaction. If it is one of the reasons listed, such as lack of interest, then you need to discover what negative habits you have formed as a result of your situation. For example, you dislike your job, but rather than actively seek a more suitable career fit, you’ve developed the habit of poor attendance or even worse mediocre performance. This needs to change. Now that you know your negative habit, you need to put measures in place to change your lot in life. This can be anything from identifying things that you do like and making it a habit to incorporate those activities into your daily work life, or decide on a new career path and then list the activities that are required to get you the position you truly desire.
Once you have your list of new activities in place, you will be ready to conquer the second law of career karma, which is Inducement.
Take some time to honestly reflect on your current habits and those new habits that you want to achieve. We will cover the law of inducement in tomorrow’s post.
