Career Choices: Deciding for Yourself

Over the last year or so, I have spoken to a number of people who have found themselves at a crossroads in their careers through no fault of their own. Economic circumstances, being in the work place at the wrong time, employers using the excuse of the economic downturn to re-structure – have led to many people finding themselves out of work at a time in their lives when they could, quite reasonably, have expected to be taking their foot off the peddle and relaxing. But, as I have said to everyone with whom I have spoken, perhaps they find themselves being given the opportunity of a lifetime and, as it has subsequently turned out for those willing to embrace that opportunity, that is exactly what their perceived misfortune has turned out to be. Again, as I have said to many of them, they, like many before them, have found themselves forced into taking the bold steps that, in reality, they should have taken for themselves.

Too often in life, people end up retiring and dying bitter and twisted! – unfulfilled, having coasted along in life’s slow lane, when they should have been accelerating towards a life of passion and fulfilled dreams. Too often in life, we’re waiting for “something to happen”, unwilling or feeling ourselves unable to take the initiative ourselves. Too often in life people have to become desperate before they’re willing or able to take the brave and courageous leaps themselves. But, then again, bravery and courage are only perceived as such through the eyes of normal people – people who would never envisage doing anything beyond the norm. How sad! Because the norms of life are pathetic. At best, they are characterised by normal people as “OK” or “not so bad”. But the truth is, given that normal people cannot see beyond the status quo, given that science proves that normal people lead mindless, automatic, reactive lives, “not so bad” falls far short of being good enough.

Nobody should ever wait for outside factors to thrust them into taking initiatives that they should have taken themselves. And certainly nobody, having had such circumstances thrust upon them, should feel sorry for themselves, feel victimised or downcast. Everyone needs to embrace what is happening now – good, bad or indifferent – as another step in the journey towards success and happiness. Imagine, finding yourself jobless, that you now have the perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do what you really want to do. If you found yourself doing what your heart desires, you’d never have to work another day in your life – because doing what really turns you on isn’t work, it’s a labour of love.

It’s good that so many people find themselves rattled at present – it’s good that people are feeling insecure. Because, in reality, there is no such thing as security – it’s a concoction of the normal mind, designed to con normal people into believing that they’re safe and in control. You’re not, you never were, you’ve no idea what life has in store for you, the only thing that you’re certain of is this present moment. And if this present moment is bad – it will pass. Everything in life passes – the only constant is your own consciousness. And that’s where normal people fall down – they’re unconscious, fast asleep, as good as dead. Indeed, they couldn’t be bothered to take control of the only thing in life that either you or I can control – our own state of mind.

What is there to leap out of bed for in the morning if you’re not prepared to live your passion, if you’re not prepared to put your foot on the gas and see where it takes you. And, because normal people have nothing to leap out of bed for, they wander aimlessly through each day as if they hadn’t! You’ve got to have exciting goals and dreams and you have to be prepared to take the bold and courageous decisions that will bring them into being. If you’ve taken control of your state of mind, if you’ve seen reality for what it is, moment to moment, those decisions will be neither bold nor courageous, they will simply be the obvious, logical next steps on an exciting journey of self-discovery, happiness and effortless success.

The key, of course, is taking control of your mind and its incredible power. To do this you will need to step away from the herd of victimised, fearful normal people – you’ll have to become abnormal. You will have to come to your senses. I mean this literally – you have five senses to which, as a normal adult, you pay no attention whatsoever. In fact, psychology proves that, as a normal adult you pay attention to nothing at all – everything’s automatic and reactive. The same scientific discipline also directly links happiness and success to one’s ability to pay attention – and this is why so few people are truly happy and effortlessly successful.

To cut a long story short, you need to devote a few minutes a couple of times each day to simply smelling the roses! You need to take a quiet five minutes to see, feel, hear, smell and taste where you are. This doesn’t just calm the mind – it breaks the automatic subconscious links that have your mind in the mindless mess it’s in. It frees your mind so that, having smelt the roses, you can see the wood for the trees (sorry about the mixed metaphors!) – it enables you apply more of your mind than you normally would to getting on with life’s important tasks in the here and now. It is the gateway to living your dream, finding your passion and being emboldened to take the logical next steps.