What qualities do the people I admire possess?
This question can be an inspiring journey toward finding the ingredients you are already comfortable using as well as ingredients with which you might like to experiment. While the question asks you to list qualities of other people, it provides a back door to identifying your own strengths, which can sometimes be difficult to do. Your responses also highlight characteristics that you might like to develop in yourself. For instance, a lady who admired the nurses and doctors in the battle against SARS for their "courage, resourcefulness, compassion, and tenacity," might rediscover her own resourcefulness and compassion. Using this exercise, she may also decide that she would like to display more tenacity in achieving her career goals.

What do I need to be my best?
Answers here make it easier for you to bring precision and specificity to your ingredient list. For instance, if you merely know that you need plenty of sleep to feel rested, you have only vague information. If however, you determine that you need eight hours of sleep, on a firm bed, and need to wake up to gentle music for optimal living, the specificity of your needs will make it much easier to satisfy them. Answering this question will help you draw up a very precise list of ingredients rather than settling for whatever happens to turn up. You will probably go to work better energized and refreshed!

What nurtures, renews, or inspires me?
Careers are wonderfully varied and therefore we experience a mix of highs and lows. The ingredients you identify in this question often create the 'food' - things which nourish your body, mind and heart, especially when you're traveling in the valleys of your career and want to get to the highlands. How you find comfort, support, energy, and motivation will be demonstrated by your answers here. Also, when you believe your career is taking a downturn and you want an upswing, simply add a dash of any of these ingredients into your daily routine to keep you feeling connected, supported, and in balance. Simply remind yourself of these answers and take one of the actions that revitalize you. If you need help with your career recipe, consult a career 'chef' a.k.a. career guide or career coach!

| Print Friendly | Previous Page |