People spend a large portion of their life working, from scrambling to complete projects, managing timetables to networking at company events. Having said this, the endgame for their career should be fulfilling. But how do people find the “Why” in their careers and what they really love to do?

Follow What You Already Know

Many professionals find themselves at a dead-end in their career growth. They often struggle to find a way out of the hole and ironically dig themselves a deeper psychological void. Overcoming this challenge is much simpler than you think. There is no need for advisers or shrinks; you just need to focus on yourself. You know yourself better than anyone else.

Ask yourself what you think about every day. What activities do you enjoy doing? What areas of study is your mind pervasively cooking up ideas about? No matter how random it is, from yoga to miniature airplanes, this could be your real passion, buried deep inside your consciousness and distorted by social influences and materialistic desires.

Listen To Your Body

People often hear and listen to the voices around them, such as their family members, friends, and colleagues, urging them to pursue safer career positions like project management, engineering or finance. Try to feel your way towards finding your real passion. Your gut will react in a certain way when triggered by a course of action. The question is – is this triggered feeling a positive or negative one? This is a powerful hint to what your next decisions should be.

Being consistently aware of how your body is feeling is important, irrespective if you’re a construction manager, engineer and environmental scientist. The most crucial part of awareness is being able to notice how different scenarios affect you emotionally, without laying judgment or censorship to oneself.

Self Reflection

Thinking before making a change; before pursuing any project or task, stop and check both your mind and body to see if what you are planning to do complements your desires. Just because tech jobs are the hottest field today, it doesn’t mean you should change your career path and get a job in Silicon Valley. If you do, you’ll find yourself regretting the decision decades from now.

People who’ve found happiness share similar qualities, one of which is they were able to figure out what was most important to them prior making a decision that will inevitably affect their life. Avoid chasing the fields that bear the most generous yearly salaries and bonuses like construction management or engineering. Instead, be driven by what you are genuinely passionate about. If you love working outside pursue a position in the environmental industries, biology, or zoology.

Bear in mind that this is not something that comes once in your life. Expect changes in your career path and the direction you wish to pursue. Regularly perform self-evaluations to allow your inner thoughts to express themselves and show you what you really want.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com