Plan your ‘Career’ to Excel in Life

The funniest thing about career planning is that it starts immediately after a child’s birth. By the time a kid comes into this world, his family starts to plan the career of their child. Some wants him to be an engineer or doctor. And by the time he start going to school his friends and teachers start asking him questions like “What you would be when you grow up?” and the foremost answer is “doctor.” And when he grows up and reaches 10^th, his answer changes to “CA”, “engineer” and any other field he likes.  So, it’s a kind of vicious circle or rather says a future circle that starts with the birth of a child.

But, when we enter a realistic world then we would know that by the time a child become older and to which we call ‘samjhdhar’ in Hindi, questions from family and relatives start pouring over him. And all he is, confused or say pressurize. Then there comes the role of career planning, where either student take guidance from the teachers or parents. There are various sites and blogs in which people tell about the various aspects of career planning. But the dictionary meaning is structured planning and choice of one’s own professional career.

But the question is what kind of professional career? Either being an engineer, doctor, CA or MBA is what one calls professionalism? Or making your talent as profession is what one call professionalism? An interesting answer to this would be only professionals can make their talent as profession. Being an engineer, doctor and CA is also a profession but a doctor, engineer and a CA would become professionals when their work is their passion and when their passion is their talent than nobody could stop them from achieving success and there would not be any other best career planning then achieving success in your talent.  And it’s the easiest and most efficient way of knowing your goals and exploring yourself and achieving self accomplishment.

It’s a myth that one has to plan career only once, rather it’s a lifelong, ongoing process. That helps you to achieve your short term and long term goals.  It is an arduous and challenging process which involves self awareness and exploring the various options after knowing yourself. There is no specific time to start a career plan, as at every step of life we know ourselves, through the mistakes we did. And career planning is all about self knowledge. As I say, no books and no other person can give you proper guidance, until and unless you try to know yourself and learn from what comes your way. As they say, you are your best teacher.