How to Make a Spiritually-Based Career Plan by Kathi Calahan

"I want to expand or change my career." I hear this statement every day from people who would make the changes if they only knew what to do.

Some tell me they do not trust the industry they are working in to stay afloat. Others say that the personality conflicts at work are so stressful that they dread getting up to go to work each day.

Not to worry. I'm going to show you how to make an excellent career plan for yourself which will also include your spiritual values. With this plan, I guarantee, you will find yourself excited to get up in the morning and go to work.

I CAN'T FIND TIME

As American author, Pearl Buck said, "I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work."

If you keep telling yourself that you just don't have time to make a huge life change, such as a career adjustment, you'll find that procrastination will creep up on your goals until a week goes by, a month, a year and then the next thing you know, your dream will have withered from neglect.

Either your career is a priority, or it's not. It becomes a real priority when you put some action behind the dream.

Carol has a full time work schedule, plus a marriage to sustain and grow. Her dream is to write a novel. She went to school and graduated with a degree in journalism, has worked in the writing career field, but has yet to write her novel. She tells me her bigger picture and direction, to write books, seems to fade in and out.

With Carol and others as examples, let's see what we can do to get her goal (and yours) out of the "want-to" stage and into reality.

VALUES

The day you were born you brought with you gifts from God. These included your values, skills and interests, which would later be utilized in a dream career

Carol brought a love of teaching through publishing into her life. She is now working on eliminating procrastination in order to fulfill her Life's Work.

Kevin found that his core value was service. He now works to help his community through his position of Public Works Inspector, making sure the roads and right of ways are safe for his town.

Katie teaches others the value of forgiving. As an instructor and coach for Radical Forgiveness, she believes that our health is directly connected to our ability to forgive.

Ask yourself, which values are most important to you. With this knowledge you can begin looking for work that will be the most fulfilling for your Soul. An excellent resource for a list of values can be found at the website The Foundation For A Better Life. You may have seen their many values commercials on TV.

SKILLS

You were born with God-given skills that will help you find the career of your dreams. How else would any of us be able to explain a piano prodigy or inventor, for example?

Make a list of the skills you have enjoyed in all your previous jobs. Rate your skills into a top three list. A fabulous skills profiler can be found online at CareerOneStop. By completing the Skills Profiler evaluation you will be directed toward a career that best fit your favorite skills.

Carol's best skill has always been writing. It would be natural for her to write books and you can see that this would be part of her Life's Work. She enjoys it, she likes sharing her knowledge and the only stumbling block in her way at the moment is procrastination.

INTERESTS

As a young child, Albert Einstein had an insatiable interest in math and science. Unwilling to think inside the box and heatedly disliking rigid methods of instruction, school authorities began to think he might be dim-witted. It was his independence of mind that later catapulted him into one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, if not all time.

Some, like Buddha, Allah or Jesus are spiritually enlightened, while others, like Einstein, are Life's Work enlightened. He recognized his God-given interests and then made use of them, while making a contribution to others. You can do this too.

Think back to your earliest interests. Was it a school topic such as Carol found in writing and English? Was it a social interest such as talking to others? You can bet that was one of Oprah Winfrey's favorite interests. Was it an interest in beauty and nature like the great photographer Ansel Adams?

Identify your top three interests.

CHOOSE A CAREER

Now that you know your favorite skills, interests and values it's time to match them to a career field you find interesting. Spiritually speaking, you were born with everything to make this choice easy. Why work in a field you're not enjoying? Get rid of the stress by making a new career plan for yourself.

For the entrepreneurial sort, look into the book by Tom Chappell called, The Soul of a Business, where you can incorporate your own spirituality with the career of your choice. Also make use of the free resources at SCORE. For the avant-garde watch the video, A Whole New Mind, where you'll find that the career industry is now gearing up for right-brain thinking while the logical left-brain jobs are being outsourced.

ONE LAST EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE

In the European publication, University of Ulster, it was proven through research study with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service that spirituality (not religion) in the workplace significantly increased optimum performance. It is now believed that this is achievable through interconnected and deeper understandings of personal and group purpose.

"The people working in NIAS demonstrated the potential to be focused on their jobs in the context of the greater needs of society, rather than their ego derived desires. This is about a oneness and wholeness between an individual and an organization where all are interconnected in achieving common goals." said Anita Kelso.

Now that you know the importance of including your personal spirituality in your career plan, and you know where your spiritual gifts came from, begin today to put these gifts to work for you. You will have, not only a career, but also a great career.

About the Author

For updates on how to find your best career/personality match, go to www.godseer.com Certified Behavioral Therapist and Spiritual Career Counselor, Kathi Calahan is “The Idea Queen & Go-To Person” for solutions to your everyday problems. Using the principles of spirituality, she will help you find the work best suited to your personality and Soul’s desire. © 2008