“It’s just I’ve been waiting for this day for my entire life. I thought I’d feel different.” – Joe Gardner, Pixar’s Soul
Pixar’s Soul shows the adventures of Joe Gardner who experiences death just right after getting the gig of his dreams. Throughout the film, he learns that life is more than just pursuing a passion and identifying himself by a career path. He discovers that life is meant to be lived with purpose — a reason for still holding on to that life. The movie which premiered in December 2020 became a favorite to people still looking for their place in the world.
Speaking of finding our place, you know how the first 20 or so years of our lives was basically planned out for us? Go to school, then graduate, then find a job. That’s it. People who went through that share how mundane life was afterwards.
We were fed with all these beliefs about passion and success. We say success is graduating college, getting a license, obtaining a master’s degree, being an employee of a top corporation, or flying abroad and earning huge amounts of dollars. Then we tell ourselves that more than anything, how we wish we could find a job that’s truly in line with our passions.
Then one day we do get to pursue our passions and achieve success. We feel such a huge climax being able to experience what we’ve been waiting for in the most part of our lives. But what usually goes up must come down. What comes afterwards is that dark feeling of wondering, “What now?”
Having done career coaching with over 200 clients both locally and internationally, Danica Octa, Founder, President, and CEO of Metamorphosis Group, recognizes that choosing a career path is far bigger than passion and success combined. What she and her colleagues have discovered is that people look for meaning and purpose in life far more than just the prestige of honors or a giddy feeling.
“Don’t mistake purpose as a pre-written destiny. It’s not. Life is what you make it. We believe that purpose is an individual’s vision, a calling, a commitment, a will to live, or anything you’d want to call it. It’s born out of being disturbed by worldly problems or even as simple as a desire to make life better. We make certain decisions and choose specific paths in our lives as dictated by that purpose. When you want, for example, to make becoming a dad your life purpose, you would take any reasonable job that can make you the best dad every single day of your life. Enjoying the benefits that life can give rather than focusing on what it will end up with makes for a meaningful way of life.”, Octa explains.
What becomes a challenge to seeing this more clearly is what Octa recalls to be a limiting belief about careers in general — that jobs were made to just give money to people as well as provide endless and meaningless work. It is definitely not. She remembers telling their clients that, more than that, jobs were made to solve problems both in the organization and in the community so that a better quality of life is achieved.
“Customer Service Representatives? They’re meant to build connections with customers so that your mom won’t feel cheated about buying insurance with no support afterwards. Management Consultants? They’re tasked to do industry research that helps find solutions to problems so that your uncle doesn’t have to worry about paying unreasonable bills for his company and displacing good employees just because of an outdated and costly operational process. Key Account Managers in FMCGs? They work to provide value when giving access to excellently made soap and shampoo to your sister so that she won’t have a miserable life taking products that will discolor her skin or make her hair go bald. Information Technology Professionals? They strive to create new technological solutions just so your brother’s bank account becomes safer than ever from people wanting to steal his money and information. All jobs solve problems and improve life situations. They’re not just an ornament in your resume, they’re there to help people. That means choosing a job should depend on what kind of solution and value you want to provide to yourself or even the world.”, says Octa.
Given this mindset, Octa believes that in order to thrive, people have to be more flexible and interdisciplinary as well as to not be too attached to a job title. “Don’t be attached to a job title, hold on to a life purpose instead. Let that reverse engineer how you choose your career path”, says Octa. “Once you successfully draft and continuously write your own purpose, only then will you be able to really tell employers how you can provide value to them especially if you and their vision are aligned. This will show and reflect in your resume and interview. When that happens, you can guarantee a higher chance of landing the best opportunity for yourself.”
Metamorphosis Group is a career coaching firm that supports job seekers, career explorers, and career changers into new opportunities. They provide one-on-one Career Coaching Programs that help people find clarity in their career path, build their LinkedIn and resume, practice their interview skills, and strategize their job hunting plan. Another offering they have is their Group Career Coaching Membership subscription program where they offer a rich content library and twice a month group coaching calls with members.
They also have the Virtual Career Academy Summit with themes such as Digital Transformation and Sustainability that happens only twice a year. You can get updates on that here. It provides the opportunity to make career coaching more accessible to people in need all while providing an end-to-end employability and employment process from figuring out their career path to landing a job. Get to experience practice interviews, resume workshops, virtual job booths, career talks, and an online raffle.
There’s one happening this March 22-26, 2021. Don’t miss out!
Connect with Danica Octa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danicaocta/
Follow Metamorphosis Group: Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Website
ADVT.