How to Create a New Vision for Your Career (Part I)

This post is the first in a three part series to help you begin to align what matters to you with what you spend most of your adult life doing: work. And no, this isn’t about finding your purpose. It’s a bit more practical than that. It’s about helping you take steps in the direction of understanding what matters to you and bringing to life a career that reflects that. Whether you’re seeking a promotion, about to retire, starting out, or ready to start a business. Follow along in this series and take these steps BEFORE making any big decisions. This is meant to help you get unstuck and inspired in your career.

PART ONE: How Aligned Are Your Work and Values?

Doing your best work often comes down to doing work that feels meaningful to you. Work that feels worthwhile. No it isn’t about purpose, or impact (though those can be valuable for some folks). It’s about understanding what matters to YOU and doing work that reflects that. 

Sounds simple right?

It can be for some folks, but for most of us it can be an eternal struggle that borders on existential. It takes a bit of work, which is what this first part of the series is about. Getting clear about what actually matters to you so you can THEN apply that to your career path.

Here are four steps you can take to figure out if the career you’re building is one that will contribute meaningfully to your larger life.

First. Let go of the “shoulds.”

It’s easy to get stuck in what we’re “supposed” to do in our lives and careers. We call it the “shoulds” of life at Re-Work. But what about the things that bring you a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment? Your immigrant parents expect you to be a lawyer, a doctor, or an engineer. Three brilliant choices. But what if you’re called by art, entrepreneurship, or a different kind of impact? I’m not saying ignore your parents, but I am encouraging you to understand what fills you up and not what pleases other people. 

I can’t reconcile the challenge of not being aligned with your parents or other people’s expectations in a single blog post, but I can help you get clear about what it is you truly want so you can move forward from that place.

So ask yourself, what would I do if the opinions of other people didn’t matter at all? Try it. Seriously, right now. Pause reading, take a deep breath. In. Then out. In one more time. And out. Now ask yourself what would I do if the opinions of other people didn’t matter at all?

What comes up for you? No need to act, just acknowledge and hold that information. If nothing comes up, don’t worry, there’s more work to be done.

Second. Explore your values.

We have a Re-Work exercise for this. It’s actually part of the homework for our New Visions workshop, but it’s a valuable tool we like to share generously because without clarity on what matters to you, it’ll be hard to align your work with your values. You might value financial security while someone else values impact or legacy. It’s important not to judge or compare yourself against others and to simply understand. You can download the Re-Work values exercise, here.

Third. Examine your path.

This part of the process is a bit of internal exploration. Think back on what’s led you to where you are on your career path. How much of it was informed by your values? Are you content with where you are? Are you excited about what’s next? Try to do this from a place of self-compassion and non-judgement. It’s not about scoring yourself, but simply understanding. Remember, there’s no wrong step on the journey of life, just lessons to be had. 

Finally. Challenge Yourself (Kindly)

Ask yourself, where do your values show up in the work you do today (if at all—they may not and that’s okay)? How integrated are they into your day-to-day? What might you be able to change to have them show up more?

The answers to these questions may demand big shifts and re-evaluations (like telling your parents you don’t think you can do law school) or it might be small, refocusing your expertise to share your impact in new ways. What it will demand most is self-compassion and a bit of creative thinking as you consider what might be possible given your unique context and the demands of life in general.

Let me give you an example. In addition to Re-Work, I run a storytelling-led communications consultancy. One of my values is freedom, which running my own business gives me access to. Impacting the world around me positively is another core value. I do this by working primarily with purpose-driven small business owners and impact-driven larger organizations and nonprofits. But being self-employed can be precarious depending on how you approach it and another value for me is financial security. So I also set aside a percentage of my client list to a few freelance projects a year that give me bigger problems to solve (impact) and provide me with a bit of additional financial security. 

Did I figure this all out in a single day? No. It took going through the steps above and then doing the work of making shifts. I’m lucky enough to be one of those people who can take a lesson and apply it and go about my life better for the knowledge. But there are also people out there, perhaps even you, who take the lesson but need some help applying it. 

That is why we designed New Visions. If you’re ready to better align your values with your work. To shift into the next best phase of your career. I’d encourage you to explore what’s possible for yourself by joining us for the upcoming 2025 cohort of our New Visions workshop. It’s an afternoon of exploration to help gain clarity about what’s next and uncover how to bring it to life, in one powerful workshop. We’d love to help if you’re ready for the next thing in your life and career. ✨