I talk to countless people about their professional lives and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone tell me, “Oh, I just kind of fell into this job.” Those same people who tell me this, often, follow it up later by mentioning just how stressed out they are all the time. Does this sound familiar as it relates to your job, hobby, or marketing art?

Starting Out

We all know the story. We fall into one job right after college, get some experience in that role, and realize we don’t really like that job. So, we use that experience to find another job in that field at another organization in hopes that it will be different this time, but we end up unhappy there too. This cycle continues until suddenly five, ten, or twenty years have gone by and we are well into a career we didn’t even want to begin with!

We spend one third of our lives at work! If you are spending one-third of your life doing something you just fell into and don’t even want to do, it is no wonder you are stressed out all the time. Worse, chances are that you are bringing that stress home with you to your family and friends. All of this stress because we fell into this job. That is why setting intentions in your life and career is important.

Setting Intentions

When I ask people what their intentions are in their careers, many people have one: I need to earn more money. While more money can be an intention, the bottom line is that money cannot buy peace of mind. A study was done recently that says that after you reach about $75000 a year in salary, an increase in your annual salary doesn’t make a significant difference in your happiness (look it up!).

Yes, money can buy you a massage and food on the table. That is great. However, that partner of your dreams, that sense of joy and happiness for life? Money is never going to buy you the things that fuel your soul. You have to go beyond just the money intention.

Create A Plan

Setting intentions is incredibly important, especially at the beginning of the year. Take it one step at a time. Start out by waking up in the morning and setting your daily or weekly intention. Monthly, quarterly, annual – take a look at what you want to get from this life and set your life’s intention.

I invite you to try a different approach and focus on your career intentions. Money may be a part of your intentions. Go beyond that. Consider how you want your career to make you feel. What do you want to have? Who do you want to work with? What is the real intention that will drive your decisions?

When you create that intention, it creates a guiding beacon of light on your path. Use that intention. Ask yourself if that new job offer or relationship is going to lead you to the intention you have set in your life or career. If the answer is yes, go for it and give it everything you’ve got! If the answer is no, abandon ship! Not doing so is how we “fell into” jobs before.

—

Carlee Myers is the Founder of the Stress Less Company. She is an expert at helping people use art and creativity in order to find their passion again. As a firm believer in creativity, Carlee helps people find their purpose in life through a combination of coaching, creative expression, and experiential activities.

Can you believe that another year has passed by? Now that we have all had a happy holiday season, are getting into the new year’s groove, and planning strategies for marketing art, I want to give you a gift and tell you the number one reason so many of us just can’t seem to stick to New Year’s resolutions.

Resolution vs Motivation

You know the story. You tell yourself that you’re going to lose 30 pounds this year. Then the year passes you by and those gym shoes you bought in January haven’t left your closet since February. Whatever the resolution was for you, we have all been there. You probably spend every December wondering why you weren’t able to follow through on the goals you set for yourself.

It turns out that the problem isn’t with the New Year’s resolution itself. The number one reason we do not follow through with our New Year’s resolution has more to do with the reason we are trying to pursue the resolution to begin with.

We may tell ourselves that we want to lose 30 pounds this year because we want to be healthy. That is not what we care about at the end of the day. What we want is to be able to keep up with our friends on their Saturday morning hikes. We want to feel confident when we go to the beach in a swimsuit.

New Year, New Business?

Many aspiring entrepreneurs go into the New Year wanting to start a company. They say they want to create this business for money or to help people. Those reasons might be a part of your motivation for starting this business. There is more to it most of the time. Everyone needs money or wants to help people. There is a bigger motivation that is driving your decision to become an business owner. It may be that you want to buy your first house or you want the freedom to travel.

While you may feel that motivations like wanting to buy a house appear selfish, the only way to stick to resolutions is get in touch with why we want the end result. When we know what that motivation is, we can find the drive to stick to our goals this year and all the years to come.

Finding your motivation is a powerful way to follow through with your New Year’s resolutions. I know that achieving the things you want in the new year is far from easy. It is hard! It is doable.

—

Carlee Myers is the Founder of the Stress Less Company. She is an expert at helping people use art and creativity in order to find their passion again. As a firm believer in creativity, Carlee helps people find their purpose in life through a combination of coaching, creative expression, and experiential activities.