Evolving Magazine

FEATURE

 

How to Evolve in the Career That You Love

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By Zara Lawrence

One of the greatest joys in life is finding a job that you’re passionate about — one that you believe will make an impact on your own life and that of others. We at Evolving Magazine previously talked about finding the work you love. By conversing with your calling, practicing your heart out, and leaping at opportunities when the time is right, finding that ideal and meaningful job is less challenging to make a reality.

Yet this is only the first step. Once you’ve found that work, how do you keep growing? How do you hone your skills, move forward in your journey of self-development, and ultimately do more meaningful work for yourself and for others?

This is where you may want to take it further by evolving in the career that you love. Below we list a few tips to help you get started.
 

Look within yourself

Take a moment to self-reflect. Which skills do you want to hone? Are there new skills you want to learn? What interests are you working on right now, and which ones do you want to work on in the future? Where do you want to be in five years? In a decade? Answering these questions can help you establish important career goals and find ways to start accomplishing them. If you’re feeling directionless, career experts LHH add that doing so can help you break a career plateau. By reflecting for clarity, you can come unstuck and discover new and exciting opportunities for growth.
 

Open your mind

Upon reflection, you may discover some weaknesses within yourself. Consider adopting a growth mindset when improving them. This helps you believe that you can learn and evolve through hard work and discipline. Use it to learn something new every day. Read more books. Challenge yourself at work with tasks that you usually wouldn’t do. Do a lateral move by taking on work of a similar skill level, but in a different field. Drawing your wisdom from multiple sources makes your knowledge more well-rounded, helping you better work on weaknesses and giving you the opportunity to develop your career in any way you wish.
 

Connect with others

However, working hard to improve yourself won’t necessarily guarantee that new career opportunities will come your way. That’s why connecting with others — or, in professional speak, networking — is so vital. By using online platforms like LinkedIn or simply meeting others through work, you can meet like-minded professionals who may wish to work on new projects with you, offer you exciting new job opportunities, or even become your mentor. To unlock these opportunities, though, you need to do more than just meet others. Cultivate your relationships with new acquaintances over time. This will allow you to connect with them on a deeper level.
 

Practice self-care

As you continue your journey toward career development, remember that you’re ultimately taking this journey for yourself — so don’t neglect yourself in the process. Make sure that you maintain a healthy and sustainable work-life balance in everything that you do. Avoid working overtime. Instead, spend that time with family and friends, or simply relax and recharge. Learn how to say no to new tasks if your workload is getting too heavy. If your body starts to ache or your mind begins to feel burnt out, allow yourself to take a break. By taking care of yourself, you’ll be more capable of achieving your goals.

Evolving within the career you love isn’t a sprint — it’s a marathon. By taking your time to productively and sustainably grow, you can continue to do the work you love better than ever before.