Originally Published 9.30.2016

The question "What do you want when you grow up?" has always been asked of us since the time we started talking. When we were young, we could reply right away with, "A doctor", "An engineer", "A teacher"," the President of the Philippines", or anything that our parents were doing, or what they wanted us to be.

Fast forward to the time we select what course to take in college (Uni), admit it or not, we usually have no clue. We usually take what our parents want us to take, or what is conveniently available.

After graduation, and even several years after, we still do not know where we're heading and still have no idea what is our career purpose in life.

The good news is, that wherever you are in your career life, it is never too late to find your career purpose.

If you are tired and sick of feeling like you're always rowing "with the flow", or whatever--the-world-takes-me-to, then the framework below and these pointers (Stahl, 2015) could help you out:

• Take an inventory of your current path and figure out what matters most to you.

• Who are you proving yourself to?

• ​Is there another way to get there?

• When you dig deep, what do you want to have to happen in your life?

• What is so compelling that it pulls you in?

If you have the answers, validate if they match the red dot below, if not re-assess/re-evaluate.

If yes, THAT is what you should do next in your career.

Ikigai: is a Japanese concept meaning "a reason for being"

References:

​1. Kobayashi, Tsukasa (1990). Ikigai: the process of allowing the self's possibilities to blossom. Nihon Keizai Shinbun. Tokyo.

2. Stahl, A., 2015. Four Questions For Finding Your Career Purpose. Forbes, December. 

​3. Mathews, Gordon (1996). What Makes Life Worth Living?: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of Their Worlds. University of California Press.

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