Candid Career Advice #6: It's Time To Normalize "Good Enough" Careers

Because they're better than "dream careers."

👋🏽 Hey there! It’s been a while. You might notice a new look and feel to my newsletter. A lot has changed in my life since you’ve last heard from me. I’ve been into “slow living” and “working to live” which is why I feel this is the perfect “let me re-introduce myself”post.

Feel free to follow and connect with me on LinkedIn where I am most active.

---

Heads-up: You can also watch, listen, or read this post.

In two minutes I talk about:

• How working to live, instead of living to work, has improved my quality of life (and how it can also improve yours).

• Why it's totally okay, and beneficial, to work a job or career you're NOT passionate about.

• How the Ikigai personality test and the Clifton Strengths assessment can give you amazing insight to your motivation and talents.

Takeaway: Work to live the life YOU desire.

🎧 Listen

📖 Read

My quality of life significantly improved for the better when I made the conscious decision to “work to live” versus “living to work.” 

While money isn’t everything, having money and being paid a comfortable wage gives you more options to live the life you desire.

While a variety of things have factored into the quality of life of live I have now, a major turning point for me was understanding what I am actually good at and what I can do somewhat effortlessly, and get paid for— even if that means not actually liking my job or not being “passionate” about it. (I’ll make another post about my thoughts on passion later).

So, my hot take is it’s great if you love your job and you excel at it. And it’s totally acceptable to excel at your job and not like it because it pays you what you need to live your life comfortably. 

I bring this up because there it is a lot of talk about “dream careers” and I feel there’s not enough discussion around “good enough” careers. 

Whether you’re on the hunt for your next job, looking to better understand how you can contribute to the world, or simply don’t know what you’re good at, I suggest having an honest conversation with yourself by checking out two tests worth taking:

• There’s the Ikigai personality test that helps you better understand what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs from you, and what you can get paid for. IKIGAI means “reason for being” in Japanese

• CliftonStrenghths assessment that gives you a detailed report of themes that define your talent DNA.

By having a clear understanding of what you’re good at, what you’re willing to get paid to do, and your non-negotiables, you’ll soon realize a variety of career paths and opportunities unique to you (and likely you’ll get pay top dollar for) that you might not have considered previously. 

As you continue to navigate your job search, remember you’re more than your job. And if you can, find work that allows you to live the life you desire.

Bonus: My Test Results

Ikigai results: While I have no desire to be school teacher, I certainly enjoy and love teaching, training, and coaching (which I do now). And all other intersections are spot on in terms of what I value.

Strengths finder: An eye opener that gave me better insight into the work the motivates me and how I work with others.

Did you take any of these tests? How do you feel about “good enough” careers? Let me know your thoughts below!

Ciao for now!

-Katrina