The Five Essential Ingredients for a Thriving Career

Have you ever felt like you’re aimlessly climbing the career ladder, unsure of what you’re reaching for?

Many people don’t know what they really want in their careers.

They often know they’re not happy. Advancement would be nice. More money? Yes, please.

But when I ask probing questions, it’s usually clear that money and advancement are proxies for what they really want. But they don’t have a clear picture of what that is.

So what? Why does it matter?

It matters because they’re making career choices that don’t work for them.

Maybe they’re making good money, but they’ve had to give up all their free time for it. Or, they have a big title and lots of responsibility, but they wish they could do what they did five years ago. Etc.

💡The Career Thriving model helps us get clearer about what we really want, so that we can make better career decisions.

To build a thriving career, focus on five areas:

1. Finances

It’s a mistake to focus on money at the expense of everything else. It’s also a mistake to overlook or downplay the importance of money in our careers.

Our work should fund our lifestyle now and in the future. Here’s a formula to express this goal.

When we don’t live by this formula, we end up in debt or worse. Because of this, we shouldn’t ignore the role of finances in our careers.

With some work, we can calculate our minimum compensation needs. Most of us want more than we are getting today. But what is good enough?

The more we can reduce our expenses, the more freedom we have to explore career options.

How important are financial goals for your career? What level of financial success is “good enough”?

2. Relationships

Relationships are an important human need.

The Surgeon General’s recent advisory on loneliness highlights just how important they are.

Professionals spend 40 - 50+ hours at work each week. Ideally, our careers should be a source of rich professional relationships.

And they shouldn’t harm our personal relationships.

Often, though, we work in toxic environments and have strained interactions with coworkers and clients.

Working too many hours or bringing stress home with us may harm our family ties and friendships.

We need to place a bigger priority on relationships and seek careers that help us fulfill our needs for connection.

How do you feel about your personal and professional relationships? How is your career helping or hurting in this area?

3. Health

A thriving career is a net positive for both our mental and physical health.

I’ve run across so many people who are so busy at work they don’t have time to exercise and their diets suffer as well.

An unhealthy work environment can lead to a downward spiral. We adopt poor health habits which make us feel bad and hurt our performance. Stress increases. Our habits get even worse and the cycle continues.

In a better environment, we’re able to eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. We have more energy. Our attitude and confidence improve.

In the end, is anything really more important than our health?

Is your career a net positive or a net negative for your mental and physical health? What choices could you make to prioritize your health?

4. Impact

Most of us are driven to make a difference in the world.

We can and should do that outside of work, but our motivation at work will be higher when we know we’re having a real impact.

I’ve had jobs where I worked my brains out, but saw few results for my efforts. I bet you have to.

It’s the reason many of us like doing yard work or take up hobbies like sewing or woodworking. We can see the results of our efforts.

In a thriving career, we put forth effort, see the results, and gain satisfaction from our accomplishments.

Are you able to see the result of your efforts in your work? How satisfied are you with the level of impact you’re able to make?

5. Fulfillment

Dan Pink highlights the importance of autonomy, mastery, and purpose to our work motivation in his book Drive.

The more control we have over our work, are able to improve our skills over time, and are contributing to something important, the more motivated we’re likely to be.

Doing meaningful work gives us purpose. It contributes to the degree to which we feel we’re here for a reason and we’re living in harmony with it.

It’s also a source of continuous growth and development. We’re getting better and better. We’re making progress. Rather than staying static, we’re moving forward.

To what extent does your work contribute to your sense of meaning and purpose? How could it contribute more?

Quick Summary

To build a thriving career, focus on five areas:

1. Finances: Identify your needs and wants, but remember, the less importance you place on finances, the more freedom you have in your career.

2. Relationships: Your career should be a source of positive professional relationships. It shouldn’t detract from personal relationships.

3. Health: Work should be a net positive to your mental and physical health.

4. Impact: Your efforts should make a difference. You should see the results of your work.

5. Fulfillment: Your career should contribute to your sense of purpose and be a source of continuous growth and development.

By investing in these areas, we build a more thriving career and improve our overall quality of life.

Thanks for reading Career Thriving! This is a brand new newsletter where I’ll share inspiration and actionable ideas to help you build a successful career without sacrificing the rest of your life. Forward this email to anyone who will find it useful. If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe below:

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