“Working it” column published in the Career Moves section of The Evening Echo on 03/03/2008

What do you really want out of life?

Sounds like a simple enough question, doesn’t it? But it can be surprisingly tricky to come up with an answer. Have you ever really sat down and thought about what your really want from your career, your family life, your social life?

It’s easy to come up with a set of things you’d like to one day aspire to in all of these areas. “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” scenarios are ten a penny. Setting real personal goals that transcend the inevitable conflicts that arise between the different elements of our lives, truly prioritising what we want to achieve is infinitely more difficult. Which of course is why so few of us manage to do it effectively… myself included.

What does that mean? It means we tend to lack clarity and focus – or if we have clarity and focus, that we’re probably applying it in the wrong direction: excelling at something that’s not moving us towards where we ultimately want to go. Instead of taking control and driving things in a way that will deliver tangible results, we react to the world around us. We might be very good at what we do: great managers, outstanding parents and exceptional partners; but ultimately unless we know what we want out of life we’ll never achieve it.

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