We all have career goals that we intend on reaching.
But sometimes we fall off the horse, either because we lose enthusiasm, we get distracted or other circumstances derail us altogether. Others aren’t able to set meaningful career goals because they haven’t identified what gives them a sense of fulfillment professionally or how to overcome the obstacles between where they are and where they want to be.
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A career dream board (or vision board) is a great way to set meaningful career goals by helping you visualize exactly what you want and where you want to go in your career. This is an interesting, inspiring, creative and useful tool that helps you not only set goals, but keep your motivation high to achieve them. But this exercise is sometimes overlooked because some consider it impractical or intangible.
Here’s why you should you have a career dream board and how it can help boost your career.
1. It helps you identify your values. What do you want out of your life and your career? How can you get there? First, make a list of things that are important to you, or that you want out of your life and career. These can be tangible or intangible things. Once you have your list, determine which things or values are the most important to you. Prioritize your list and stay with the top 10.
Now, see if and how each of these items can be transferred to your professional life and in your career. It’s important to clearly identify what each value means for you on a career level. For example, you may have chosen family as something that’s important to you. In order for you to honor family life in your career, you may want a schedule that allows you to be at home on the weekends or that offers flextime. Go through your list and write down how you can honor your values on a personal and professional level.
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2. It helps you set new goals. During the process of determining the things that are important to you, you may find that not all of your values are being honored in your current position. Take some time to think about ways you can better honor your values at work. For example, you may discover that being connected with others is important to you. You could set the goal of making the effort to talk with your coworkers more often. Reaching this small goal can catapult you to other goals, such as expanding your professional network. Try to set three new goals for yourself from your list of values to work on in your career.
Once you’ve identified the values you want to honor in your career and the new goals you want to reach, think of other things you’d like to have. This could include working for a great boss; earning an ideal salary number; or promoting a product you really believe in. List the top 10 things you want in your career — values, goals and beyond — and use a poster board to showcase them. Either draw or use pictures to represent them. You can choose to organize the board as you wish. Have fun with it and really personalize it. Then put it somewhere you can see it every day. If you don’t want to craft a physical board, you can make one digitally. Just make sure it’s visible daily, such as on your phone or computer background.
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3. A dream board helps you stay focused and positive about your goals. We all know the importance of using visual aids during a meeting or presentation. The same principle applies in reaching your professional goals. Seeing pictures helps us create a lasting mental vision compared to just reading a list of goals. Pictures also generate emotion. Your dream board should help you quickly remember exactly what your career vision is and excite you about getting there. Make sure you take a few minutes every day to look at and think about your dream board. Sit with it and picture what your career would be like with these elements present. This will help you take the actions needed to reach your goals and boost your career.
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3 Ways a Dream Board Helps Boost Your Career originally appeared on usnews.com
