How past career decisions can shape your future
We may not realize it, but the day to day decisions we make affect our careers for a lifetime.
So if you are struggling to make a career decision because of:
- deciding on a career move
- deciding to leave a job
- deciding to make a career change
- deciding between two jobs
- regretting your career choice
- considering future career goals
there are a pattern of choices you have made in the past that lead to where you are now.
There are many angles to making a career decision, Harvard Business Review has 166 ways as of this publication. Most of them are a bit esoteric for our purposes.
But to keep it simple for our purposes here, there is one easy career decision making system I use with clients to break their patterns? Look to your decision timeline – past and future.
Make career choices in a new way
What if you decided to make your career choices in a new way. Wouldn’t that change your life? There is no question about it.
For example Bill Gates left college before he graduated because he knew he had an idea that could make a big breakthrough. What if he had stayed in school and his competitors scooped him? He would not have founded a start-up now called Microsoft.
Don’t let your career decisions just happen to you
This Career Decision Timeline tool lets you look at your last ten years in terms of career choices and lifestyle decisions you have made. This can guide you to make your breakthrough job choices for the future.
By examining your past decisions, and what values they were based on, you can lay out a blueprint for a prosperous future – for now, for the next ten years and beyond.
This way, rather than just letting life “happen” to you, you can guide it in the direction that works best for you, like a GPS guiding your career.
Why be frustrated with your current job or financial situation, when there is an awesome career path you could be blazing to secure your future?
Get a handle on your future career
Take 5 or 10 minutes to take a stroll through this Decision Timeline tool, and get a handle on your future – starting now. It’s that easy.
Look at your career options, money beliefs and relationship choices, and see if there is an area where new choices and new beliefs can expand your career options brighter than you ever thought possible.
You are not looking to “blame” yourself here. Not at all. You want to examine: What value system guided my patterns of decision making? What values can guide new trends in my choices?
How to use this career decision timeline tool
Go through past ten years, and examine how it all came about. Then look at next 10 years. Ask yourself what new choices, based on what values and beliefs, can I make to bring me the prosperity and happiness I want?
You might not be able to answer everything, of course on the first try. But let this process open your thoughts to future consideration.
Ready? Here is your chance to review how you have made career decisions in the past, and how to make the decisions that can help you find the right career path in the future.
Past 10 years – Career Decision Timeline
First, review the decisions you’ve made over the last 10 years:
| Looking back at my last 10 years: Did I make hasty decisions based on these factors? | Yes or No | For all of your ‘yes’ answers, Did I make hasty decisions here?Then ask yourself “How can I avoid making hasty decisions like this in the future? |
|---|---|---|
| Under pressure to take anything, desperation | ||
| Pride to stay with a path when it’s wrong for me | ||
| Family member or friend’s suggestion | ||
| “For the money” | ||
| My friend works there | ||
| Somebody else’s idea? | ||
| Easiest to do | ||
| Supposed to be temporary | ||
| Spur of the moment, how I felt at the moment | ||
| Went to school for it | ||
| Just showed up and got a paycheck | ||
| Money and spending choices | ||
| Just enough to pay bills | ||
| Spend whatever I made | ||
| Didn’t have a plan | ||
| Worked hard wanted vacation | ||
| Didn’t think ahead | ||
| Never thought job market would melt down | ||
| Slave to paying off credit and debt I ran up | ||
| Saved money, but spent it | ||
| My paycheck just kinda disappeared all the time | ||
| Had a bad habit | ||
| Always behind | ||
| Relationship choices | ||
| Convenience | ||
| Whoever was around, I just hung out | ||
| Under pressure to take anyone, desperation | ||
| Spread myself too thin | ||
| Family member suggestion | ||
| “For the money, car, house, lifestyle, etc.” | ||
| My friend dated their friend | ||
| Somebody else’s idea | ||
| Easiest to do | ||
| Supposed to be temporary | ||
| Spur of the moment, how I felt at the time | ||
| They were great partner, I didn’t invest enough time | ||
| Just showed up and met them | ||
| Expected to marry someone, anyone | ||
| Career choices | ||
| Convenience |
What did you discover after reviewing what decisions you made – and how you made them – over the last 10 years?
What hasty career decisions did you make? More importantly, what guided those decisions?
What set of beliefs, values or impulses guided your decisions? Are they serving you?
Physically write down the top 3 to 5 hasty career decisions you made in the past that you want to avoid this time around.
Next 10 years – Career Decision Timeline
Plan out better personal and career decisions over the next 10 years by identifying and cultivating new values and beliefs.
Go through this list and cultivate those values, beliefs and factors that help you make better career, money and relationship choices:
| “Looking forward at my next 10 years, how do I make solid decisions? | “What beliefs and values must I cultivate to ensure I make the most fulfilling & lucrative career, money and relationship choices over the next 10 years?” |
|---|---|
| Based on a defined career purpose | |
| Based solidly on my values and beliefs | |
| Using my most valuable, enjoyable skills | |
| Serving my ideal community & audience | |
| Satisfying my interests and desire | |
| Where I have the most confidence | |
| With a belief that “I deserve the best” | |
| Work in a way that gives me control | |
| Design the career that I want | |
| Look for my “edge” and make my breakthrough | |
| My way, my style, my needs | |
| Follow my lucrative Career Plan | |
| Money and spending choices | |
| Work in my optimal career so I make the most money | |
| Generate multiple streams of income | |
| Put together a money management plan | |
| Only spend money on assets that grow | |
| Build a savings and only spend from there | |
| No more debt unless its towards assets | |
| Dump the bad habits | |
| Look for low cost ways of recreation | |
| Vacation only on saved money, never credit | |
| Make an investment into the wealth I want | |
| Relationship management choices | |
| Improve how I Value my relationships | |
| Value what I bring to a relationship | |
| Choose who I want to spend time with | |
| Plan out relationship strategies that serve me | |
| Dump relationship parasites and vampires | |
| Choose from the belief “I deserve the best” | |
| Look for mentors in areas you need to grow | |
| Spend 80% of my time with important 20% | |
| Have several friends for several activities | |
| I don’t have to be needy or desperate | |
| Build my value so I am more desirable | |
| Join like-minded communities | |
| Be disciplined to not over extend myself | |
| Invest into relationships I want to develop | |
| Plan out my career choices |
Feel better after reviewing what decisions you can cultivate over the next 10 years? You are now in control of your future.
Choose the top 3 or 5 NEW set of beliefs and values you must cultivate to make the best career decisions, so you can avoid career regrets.
You now have a career decision template to guide your better career decisions right now, and in future career decisions.
All you have to do now is review this list daily for 4 to 6 weeks to internalize it, and it will cultivate the beliefs you want to manifest.
I offer a free downloadable Career Decision Making Tool here as well. Its a fillable PDF that goes more in depth than we do here.
The 10 year career decision timeline is addressed more in depth in the Career Discovery and Self-assessment course: Define Your Career
You can try out the first section of the course for free: Click here to get the Free Report: How to Unlock Your Career Destiny
