How to Create a Value-Driven Career Roadmap

What would you do if money didn’t matter?

When we shift our focus from working for an income, versus working alongside our values, the careers we have in mind might be radically different.

Money is important, we need it to live secure and abundant lives; lives that involve choice. But, often what we don’t address is another type of pain point; one that runs deeply inside our souls. When our pockets are full, but our hearts feel empty— where does it come from?

This pain is something that people often push away in pursuit of what they think they “should” do, the types of careers they think they should have.

Gravitating towards a career, a relationship, or a life that doesn’t fully align with our values.

We all have values— they form as a result of our individual experiences. They’re ingrained in us deeply, and when we stray from them, naturally we feel a type of tension.

Luckily, there are ways we can implement our values into our daily routines and more so, our choices regarding our careers. Think about it: you’re going to spend the majority of your waking hours working towards something. If that something innately goes against your inherent values, how can you truly be happy, regardless of how much money you’re making?

Implementing Values in Your Daily Life

First, you must identify what are your core values. For me, in the order of importance: Health, Relationships, Purpose, Career, Finances.

Every decision you make on a daily basis has an impact on your future. That means you get an abundance of opportunities to take actions that align with your values. Often, when we get down to it, how much of our time is spent working on our values? Is scrolling through social media aligning with my values? Is getting plastered on the weekend aligning with my values? Is bringing up something petty with a partner aligning with my values?

Start identifying what it is you truly value. Start observing how your daily actions correspond to them. When we begin to shift our decisions based on alignment with our core values; we may start to experience a shift in how we feel about ourselves.

One way I did this was by color-coded my expense sheets. Green meant it was a purchase I felt good about. Orange meant it could have been better. Red meant it was an unneeded purchase (that didn’t correspond with my values at all). For example, spending quality time with a friend at a nice restaurant is green. Buying a new dress for vacation might be orange. Those last two tequila shots at the bar might have been red.

Creating a Roadmap for Your Career

Figuring out what it is we want to pursue for the rest of our lives seems more daunting than marriage itself. As human beings with complex minds, our thoughts and interests are constantly fluctuating and evolving. Things that I enjoyed doing 5 years ago might be completely different than they are now. When we go through different jobs or experiences, we might eradicate certain types of roles from our reservoir altogether.

Instead of thinking of specific jobs, why put that constraint on ourselves in the first place? Sometimes we have to accept if we based our lives on a central ‘life purpose’, mission, or goal, there are numerous ways one can achieve that. Instead of thinking, I want to be a lawyer so I can help people, ask yourself, what are the ways I can make an impact in people’s lives?

With your values listed at the top, make branches from each of them, and to follow, specific actions, activities, or skills that you can develop to meet those values.

For me, my purpose for the longest time was always: to make the world a better place than I left it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to become an extreme environmentalist. For me, I can do this through many different means:

-Through writing, I can help evolve or change the way people perceive the world, themselves, in a positive light.

-Through a political career, I can implement changes on a larger scale, and reconcile peace between different states.

–Through learning about entrepreneurship, I can eventually develop passive income streams so I have enough to give back.

-Through traveling, I can develop interpersonal skills, learn about different cultures, experiences, and use that knowledge to contribute back to humanity.

-Through building strong & authentic relationships with people, I can experience more of life in its entirety.

Be Adaptable and Develop Patience

When we have value drive, purpose-led goals, it’s no longer a race to the finish. Completing medical school in 8 years might not be the finish line, but only a part of your journey. Building a company might only complete the first part of the phase. 

If we work according to this, it’s easier to generate long-term satisfaction with our lives and wide portfolio encased in our careers. We might develop all sorts of skills and interests along the way, and the key here is that we remain adaptable to new routes to build towards our goals.

 An important factor is that we keep the light burning within us for a long haul. Going full speed at something to get results, can seemingly help us get to our goal faster; however, we have to also consider to repercussions that it has on our physical and mental health.

A steady climb towards an objective might be more worthwhile. At the end of the day, your journey is meant to be challenging, but enjoyable.

Conclusion

We’re taught from a very young age to pick one job and go for it. It’s going to take some mental work to rewire that frame of thinking; but once you do, you will find yourselves with more freedom and clarity to pursue the things that actually align with your core values. It is in your toolbox to reflect and craft a life that is meaningful to you. Instead of “making a living”, why not give “make a life”, a try?