How many times have you thought that, despite not being able to complain and that things are going well or very well, you are missing something? Many of my clients and readers tell me that, that they are missing something. Sometimes they have a job they like and feel fulfilled with but something is wrong. Other times they have professional careers in which they have risen to positions, overcome challenges and reached the top, and yet they feel that what they do does not fill them.
This situation is very frequent and frustrating because, in most cases, they do not know exactly what they are missing. In general, they are people who when they know what they want go for it, there is nothing to stop them. They are hard-working and persevering, but there comes a time when they feel stagnant, even unmotivated, by that something they miss.
In general, if you are in this situation, it is good to rethink what your priorities are, lest some circumstance of your life has changed and the things that previously seemed essential to you now are not so much. Apart from that there are two fundamental things that you have to take into account, both personally and professionally, if you want to feel satisfied with what you do. Two key ingredients that have to be present in what you do:
- Achievements: achieving goals, overcoming challenges and developing yourself. Accomplishment: doing things that are important to you, that make sense.
To feel satisfied and happy with what you do, whether we are talking about your professional career or other important areas of your life, you have to make sure that there are achievements, that you are achieving goals and overcoming challenges, and that you feel fulfilled. It is relatively obvious but often overlooked, and it is very easy to focus on only one of those aspects and forget the other. This explains different situations. For example, when you feel fulfilled in your work, you like what you do, you do it well, but you lack something. As some clients tell me: "I need something more." In general, that something else is to grow, to have challenges, to achieve new things, to go further.
And the same in the opposite case, people who have developed a lot professionally, who have overcome challenges, have achieved many things but feel that now they need something that really fulfills them. Why? Because they did not feel or do not feel fulfilled at the moment with their work. It is easy to get carried away by a career in which you are developing, you have more and more responsibilities, more salary, more recognition… Until one day you realize that you lack a key element: feeling fulfilled. This case is quite frequent frequent in women who, from the age of forty, plan to make a change, start a business or do something that is basically what they really want.
So from now on, whether you feel like you are missing something or not, often ask yourself if you have the two key ingredients to feel satisfied: if you feel fulfilled with what you do and if, in addition, there are frequent challenges and achievements (Of course the frequency is determined by you, each person is different). And if not, it is time to consider which of these ingredients you lack and what you need to achieve it. For example, if you don't feel fulfilled, stop to think about what makes you feel fulfilled. Think about your life and your work, at what moments have you felt fulfilled? What did you have or experience that you don't have now?
If what you are missing are challenges, consider how you can achieve them and if it is essential that they are present in your work, in your professional career. Sometimes you can add personal achievements in other areas (for example, if you are an athlete) and that's enough. Other times, you really need your achievements to be professional, and then you have to analyze if your current situation allows you to achieve them or not and what you can do about it. Maybe it's time to ask for a raise, more responsibility or to change jobs if your growth is not possible.
Which of these two ingredients are you missing and, most importantly, what are you going to do to fix it?
