Have you ever stopped to remember why you’re building a career? 

On the surface, it could be a pointless question; the answer readily available. But the point of this article is not to worry about how obvious or not this might be. The point is to help you reflect. To encourage you to take a moment to pull yourself out of the frazzle that is email, social media and errands to remember the reason why you’re doing what you are doing. 

This reflection is important to do every once in a while. 

If we don’t take the time to stop and reflect every so often about the deeper why of what we are doing, we run the risk of losing sight of our path and a deeper purpose. We run the risk of focusing on the wrong things, because we haven’t decided what is meaningful to us in the current season or chapter of our life. 

And while another answer to “why build a career” is because we need to financially support ourselves, it can also become well, it’s just what we do. I want to take a moment to challenge that, to dig a little deeper below the surface, and to share some of my perspectives with you to perhaps encourage some reflection of your own. 

What the word “career” means to me

What does the word “career” mean to you? 

In my mind, I imagine a career spanning across a lifetime, made up of the things I learn, the jobs I do and the difference I make. A job, role or promotion are the ingredients and the stepping stones of an entire career. 

My career encompasses all that I do, from engineering and project management to public speaking to writing this blog. It’s not a single role: it’s the sum of the parts; the contribution I’m making to the world. I want to leave it a better place for the next generation. 

My career is my lifelong quest to contribute to the world.  

What impact do you want to have? 

This is a great question to ask yourself at any point in your career, because it can provide a North Star for the type of work you want to do. It transcends “role” or “job” because it’s about how you want to help others or create a positive change in the world. It’s the theme to your career. I like this question better than “what are you passionate about” because all work will have elements of boring stuff, difficult stuff, and stuff you don’t want to do. If you can create your career at an intersection of the two, however… then you’re onto something. 

We want to make the world a better place

I recently watched a TV series that poked fun at people who want to “make the world a better place”. I laughed at the jokes with an undercurrent of embarrassment – after all, they were joking about me… 

But the reality is that you either give or you take. So, if you are working towards making a positive difference in the world it’s a natural outcome that you are making the world a better place. It doesn’t matter the scale. Impacting one person is just as worthy as impacting millions. If the net impact of your work and career is positive, then it’s simple maths: you are leaving the world a better place than you found it. 

We gain happiness and fulfilment from giving and making a contribution. We don’t need to be embarrassed about being bold enough to stand up and say you want to make a difference. 

To conclude

I believe that we work towards building a career not just for financial stability but also because deep down, most of us want to make a contribution to the world. A career spans jobs, roles and companies. A career is about building your skillsets, and using these skillsets to make the world a better place. Asking questions like “what impact do I want to make?” helps to define career trajectories, and provide a check-in to your purpose and why you are doing what you are doing. 

Building a career is such a privilege and we should be grateful for the opportunity. We can pay that privilege forward by being bold and courageous in our efforts to make a positive impact.

Building a career might mean something completely different to you, and that’s OK. I hope that this reflection has given you some inspiration to take a moment and come back to your why, just like writing it has brought me back to mine.