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It’s very easy for us to just continue doing what we’re always doing.  To assume that the next step is the same as the step before.  To stay in your current job because, like the frog slowly coming to the boil in a saucepan, the incremental changes are not significant enough to prompt you to take action.  But I would strongly encourage you to review the reality of your current job at least once a year. 

This list of 25 questions will get you started:

1. How much joy am I experiencing at work?  

2. Do I look forward going to work?  

3. How demanding is this role compared to the energy I have to offer? 

4. Do I enjoy being with my colleagues? 

5. Do I believe in the values of my managers? 

6. Do I ultimately want to support the purpose of the organisation I work for? 

7. Is it giving me opportunities to grow?  

8. Is it giving me opportunities for advancement? 

9. Am I continuing to learn skills and knowledge? 

10. Is the current job compatible with the life stage I’m currently at? 

11. Will it enable me to have the relationships I want to have with my partner, with my children, and with my parents?   

12. Is it taking too much of a toll on those things that are important to me?  

13. To what extent Is it giving me the freedom to do the things I want to do when I’m not at work?

14. Can I pursue those sports, hobbies or other interests that matter to me? 

15. Can I have the social life that suits me?

16. Can I be an activist for the charity or cause I care about? 

17. Can I pursue the professional development I want to? 

18. Will the career path I’m on take me to the top job or am I stuck with no prospect for further advancement?  

19. Is my current career track going to suit me in the medium or long term? 

20. Is my current job helping me to fulfil my own dreams and ambitions?  

21. Are there dreams that I gave up on long ago that I should dream, reimagine and start moving towards?  

22. Will the job I’ve got ultimately give me the long-term financial security I need or crave?

23. Do I know for how much longer I would need to carry on working to be ready to have the money I need to ultimately sustain a life beyond full-time permanent employment? 

24. Are there particular short-term goals that I or our family has that this job is blocking?  

25. What are the pros and cons of wider options: retraining, other roles, another way of working, relocation, part-time flexible working, self-employment, build my own business, to become an interim, an independent consultant or portfolio executive?  

As you review each of these questions you may believe that you can renegotiate your role within the organisation so that it better meets your needs.  But if, deep down, you recognise that your renegotiation is not going to be successful, then perhaps you should think about planning for a different kind of future.  Particularly, if you are between 45 and 55 years old you really need to be considering what you want out of your 2nd Half Career.   I suggest you set aside 30 days to take the challenge to explore the 8 Essentials for Freedom and Joy at Work.  You can sign up at  http://8essentials.biz/. 

 

Charles McLachlan is the founder of FuturePerfect and on a mission to transform the future of work and business. The Portfolio Executive programme is a new initiative to help executives build a sustainable and impactful second-half-career. Creating an alternative future takes imagination, design, organisation and many other thinking skills. Charles is happy to lend them to you.