You can have anything in your life you want; you just can’t have everything you want. (Where would you put it all?).  Many things will catch your eye but very few will catch your heart. Those are the things we are trying to identify here.

Career related decisions are the hardest to make and have the most impact on the quality of your life. As much as you may want to refute this, you do spend most of your life working on something, and you are to a certain extent identified with and bonded to what you do for a living. To be able to make better decisions, you must begin with yourself. What are you feeling, and what is best for YOU? No matter how selfish that sounds, the decision must be best for you, first and foremost.

Consider how this career decision utilizes (or doesn’t) your likes, your talents, how much it allows you to express yourself creatively. This is a very important element to your happiness. All things being equal, go with the choice that allows you to be the most creative and gain appreciation for your talents – the ones you think are important.

Finally, go with your gut. Which direction feels right? Which one would bring you the most joy and satisfy you emotionally? Go somewhere quiet and peaceful so you can (in solitude) get in touch with your intuition.

Decisions are so much simpler when you have a Heroine’s Journey.  A mission and an overriding purpose in your life. Even so, for the divergent thinker, decision making does not come easily. Even though you tap your intuition for advice, you can sometimes be too hasty and impatient.

Shortsighted decisions can come back and bite you later. If you say ‘I will cross that bridge when I get to it’, you may find out that there is no bridge. It was washed away by bad decisions. Trying things on for size can be fun, but taking paths that lead nowhere will limit your success.  I am assuming (and we all know how bad that is) that you want to get somewhere.  The goal i am talking about is to decide on the best career that is right for you now. If you need help setting a quest or making a decision, try these tips:

• Ask others for their input, especially those who have been there, done that. People you respect. Those who are removed from the situation and can rationally (i.e. unemotionally) offer advice. Get several viewpoints. Don’t be afraid to ask for input.
• Play out what-if scenarios and consider the contingencies and consequences of each path you could take. This fast forward thinking allows you to ‘begin with the end in mind’and work backward to what you should be doing now.
• Take a left brain approach and research your options. Information is a wonderful thing.
• Focus. Instead of taking a spray-and-pray approach, set your sights and focus on the target you most want to hit.