When people initially contact me to inquire about career coaching, they often find it challenging to imagine that they could ever find a career that energizes and inspires them. Some are hoping for advice on what career path to pick and ask: “Will you give me specific career suggestions?” or “Can you tell me what I should do, given my skills and experience?”
I completely understand how uncomfortable it can feel to be without specific answers to these questions. I have been there myself, wishing someone would just give me the answers so that I could move on to the next chapter of my career.
From my own journey to career clarity as well as from witnessing my career coaching clients succeed, I have come to appreciate how awareness grows through coaching.
Awareness Precedes Our Ability to Notice
I often notice how awareness strengthens my ability to notice things in my own life.
For example, two years ago in late spring I planted tubers of pink dahlias, which I had received from a dear friend in choir. I was overjoyed to see the flowers blossom in the late summer and fall.
Ever since I planted dahlias in our garden, I notice beautiful dahlias in other gardens. The dahlias were, of course, blooming all along in our neighbourhood. I just wasn’t aware of it, until I planted these wonderful flowers in our own backyard.
Perhaps you notice this phenomenon in your own life. Like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you notice that car brand everywhere. Or maybe your kids get a lab puppy and suddenly you see Labradors on every street corner.
It’s not that your environment unexpectedly changed. You were simply not aware of this aspect of your environment before. Now you can’t help but notice this feature everywhere you go.
Awareness Grows Through Career Coaching
Through career clarity coaching, I witness a similar phenomenon in each of my clients as their awareness grows. Awareness truly precedes your ability to notice what is right for you.
While you may long for a quick fix, you probably want a career that is more than just that.
Awareness of your innate strengths, core values and sense of purpose really does precede the clarity regarding what career is right for you.
By guiding you through the inner exploration of the activities that have heart and meaning for you, you will naturally discover what inspires and energizes you.
As you gain inner clarity about what is right for you, you are suddenly able to see career opportunities that deeply resonate. These opportunities were there all along, you simply weren’t aware of them before coaching.
Career Coaching Builds Awareness of Your Strengths
Let’s take Maya (not her real name) for example. Through coaching Maya realized that her detailed, thorough research style was one of her innate strengths.
Maya had been told she was too slow completing her work for most of her life. This had led her to believe her thoroughness was a weakness she needed to overcome.
Once she became aware that her thoroughness applied in the right setting serves as a tremendous strength, she began to notice career opportunities with a strong research component. She is now happily employed as a paralegal specializing in case law.
Career Coaching Strengthens Awareness of Your Values
Another career coaching client, let’s call her Angela, became acutely aware of her value for excellence through coaching.
As she did, she finally understood why she dreaded her current job. As a manager working in a union environment, she sometimes had to promote people based on seniority regardless of their competencies. To Angela this felt very frustrating. In this environment, she wasn’t able to foster the high-performance team she envisioned.
Once she realized her own innate value for excellence, she was able to recognize companies aligned with that value. She is now happily engaged in senior leadership of an innovative, high-performance private sector company.
Career Coaching Connects You with Your Sense of Purpose
Yet another career coaching client, Ted (not his real name), became aware of his deeper sense of purpose as a community builder.
As he became aware of his purpose, he recognized opportunities for his landscaping business to create places that foster community building.
Over time Ted focused his business completely on this new niche. Every time he sees children play in one of the playgrounds he created, Ted gets excited. What a joy for Ted to make a positive difference in his community!
Just like Maya, Angela and Ted, through career coaching you too can find career opportunities that align with your strengths, values and purpose. Take a powerful step today and request your free career clarity coaching consultation. I can’t wait to witness your discoveries as I guide you on your journey to career clarity and fulfillment.
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