Do you have a clear and inspiring vision of where you want to be in your career in the next 2,5 or 10 years? In addition, are you enthusiastically taking steps to pursue the career of your dreams? If your answer is “no,” then you risk being badly disappointed. “Why you may ask”. Because If you place the task of driving your career into the hands of others – your company, your boss, your partner, or even your parents – you risk not only being stuck, you also risk getting lost. After all, if you are not working to realize your own dreams, you are most likely working to achieve someone else’s. All too often, this relinquishment of responsibility for your career happens without you even realizing it. Take Charlie, for example, He has been in his current position for the last five years, and his job has been comfortable. He knew what was expected of him, his boss was okay, and his coworkers were his friends. Life was good. Another one year passed and Charlie started to watch the clock. The 5.00 p.m. countdown became his new norm and, by Wednesday each week, Charlie had switched to Friday mode. He yearned for more excitement and challenge: the status quo was not serving him anymore and he was hoping something could change! Surely, he had been with the organization long enough to deserve a promotion of some kind? Maybe a job reassignment? Or, a change of office, at least? Unfortunately, Charlie had not figured out that factors outside of him weren’t responsible for his career growth and satisfaction. He had not understood that he was entirely responsible for driving his career progression, without which the results will remain the same. To be on the driver’s seat of your career progress means you have to be proactive and take charge, determining the destination and figuring out the best possible route. When you take charge, you will realize that the only way to achieve career growth and satisfaction is to understand what you want, and take the initiative to pursue it by putting in place a plan to get there, and then start moving towards it.

Winnie Seurei-Tanui is a mother, an author & a Public Speaker passionate about Personal Development. She is on a mission of sharing knowledge and ideas that help people live and work boldly.