Are you presently in a job or business that is lacking in some important areas? If so, there is a strong possibility that you are feeling frustrated, bored, perhaps even dreading each work day.

Maybe you're longing for relief from all the things you hate about your job. Our many years of experience has shown that jobs which are unpleasant tend to cause people to focus a lot of attention on what they don't like or don't want rather than what they do want. In reality, this takes you farther from the very thing you want.

The following exercise will guide you to "flip flop" all the undesirable qualities in your present or recent job into the qualities, skills, preferences and tasks you want to have in your job or future Career Playground.

You will be completing an assessment of your current or recent job. It will allow you to determine all the things you dislike about your current position and convert these aspects into the qualities you desire for the future. Sometimes this simple step can generate significantly increased clarity. This exercise is best done with the guidance of a coach or buddy who is assisting you in your career transition process.

Instructions

1. Starting with a blank sheet of paper draw a line down the center of the page. In the left column, make a list of all the qualities that you dislike in your current position. Be sure to be very thorough and exhaustive. If you need to extend to a second sheet of paper due so. Numbering the items can also be helpful.

 2. For each of the items listed, ask yourself the following question: If this item describes something that I don't like, what does this imply that I really do want in my job which is not YET present?

3. For example, if you presently dislike working alone, you probably want more quality associations or relationships with colleagues, perhaps a sense of partnership or collaboration with others. Right? If you presently have a supervisor who is overly critical, you probably want a supervisor who is supportive and empowering of your efforts. Right? We call this a flip flop because it is like turning your undesirable quality inside out and describing it's opposite, the actual desired outcome.

4. Your next step is to place the desired characteristic or flip flopped item in the right column of the page next to the item that you don't like. By continuing in this manner with each of the items in the left column, you will wind up with a list of desired job attributes in the right column.

Completing this step can be quite illuminating and helpful in and of itself because many people tend to focus so much on the problem and not on the desired result. Shifting your attention to the desired result allows you to start envisioning (and creating) what you want right now!

5. Using all the items in the right column, write a description of a new position you would prefer over the one you now have.

Important
Even though this exercise is a very powerful tool, it needs to be combined with other assessment tools and should not be relied upon by itself to determine an ideal career path.

A great place to start in clarifying your career and life direction is with our complimentary career assessment session. This will give you an opportunity to see the big picture and create an optimum course of action.

To schedule your session, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with some times that will work for you. We will respond promptly with the best time for the session. I'm looking forward to meeting with you!