Do you remember when you were at school and the most important question you had to answer was ‘what do I want to be when I leave school?’

Well if you were anything like me you had absolutely no idea, so you either chose:

  • plan A (grabbed for the first thing that sounded ok),
  • plan B (followed in your parents footsteps) or
  • plan C (you are still waiting for your calling).

Imagine if you could have that choice all over again, knowing what you know and feeling what you feel.

Well you can.

We are in one of those disruptive phases where old jobs no longer exist, where employee numbers are being reduced and it’s time to think differently about what you want to be when you grow up.

If you are struggling with what’s next for you, you could follow the conservative path and look for another position in your field but risk opening yourself up for the same pressures that exist in your current role and organization, or you could try something a little different.

Why not blow yourself up and start all over again?

Imagine you could do anything, what would it be?  Create that dream role, don’t worry about all the reasons you couldn’t do it or the skills and experience you don’t have at this stage, and just think about what would be beyond your wildest dreams.

Once you have the picture of what you want to be when you grow up, you can now plot the path to getting there. Expand your skillset to get to that point, grow your network to create the opportunities and then identify the positions that would be stepping stones to getting to your dream role.

Don’t spend all your time thinking about what you currently do, and what you cannot do… think about what you want to do.

Why not blow yourself up and start all over again?

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Written by Lisa Smith

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Lisa is a professional thinker dedicated to helping people unlock their innate creativity and to empower them to think differently – for themselves. She is passionate about building innovative cultures and about harnessing and engaging talent to create thinking communities. Lisa holds an MBA, specialising in organisational change and innovation, which forms the nucleus of her work. She relishes opportunities to share the Minds at Work thinking strategies with government bodies, socially responsible corporate, educators, community groups and farmers, helping them to turn their big ideas into realities.