How can you build resilience by reflecting on your career goals?

Building resilience through reflecting on your career goals involves acknowledging setbacks as part of the journey, extracting lessons from challenges, and adjusting your approach. By regularly assessing your career objectives, understanding failures, and adapting strategies, you cultivate a resilient mindset. This reflective process empowers you to view obstacles as stepping-stones, fostering adaptability, and ensuring your goals align with your evolving aspirations.

It's vital to set clear, measurable objectives while being flexible to adapt as your career path evolves. Flexibility is key here. Aligning these goals with personal values ensures not just professional success, but also personal fulfilment. Remember, a well-defined goal is the first step towards achieving it.

Although career goals are important, sometimes, especially at the outset of a career, experimenting with different roles or industries can help you understand better which are those challenges that inspire you to move forward. Reflecting on the “why” of the career goal will give you more direction and you will more likely be able to maintain your energy as you move along your path.

Consider using a SWOT analysis, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Speak to others, peers, managers, friends and mentors. Gain feedback and then decide on your path forward.

The simplest way to pick a career goal is to: 1. See someone doing something that you admire and something you would like to do. 2. Then tell yourself, I want to do that as well. 3. Then ask that person if you can help them with task, etc. (add value to this person) so you can learn. 4. Work towards getting the skills, degree, certifications but most importantly, the experience.

Goals always look much smaller in the rear view mirror. Reflecting on them helps you to remember that the the mountain will shrink as you start to climb it. So don't be too attached to fixed outcomes, set big goals and play to learn!

Reflection also enables course correction, if required. Often, we tend to shift professional goal posts due to evolving personal choices and circumstances. Reflection allows for adapting to such changes, if need be

In my view, reflecting on career goals helps individuals gain clarity about what they want to achieve in their professional lives. This clarity provides a sense of direction and purpose, which can help individuals stay focused and motivated during challenging times. When faced with setbacks or obstacles, having a clear goal in mind can help individuals bounce back and find alternative ways to move forward.

In my experience, reflection is the foundation for success. Reflection is simple words is the process of reviewing how far one has come in terms of fulfilling the ultimate goals. As it is rightly said, " Journey is more than important than the destination." Hence, consistency in reviewing one's career goals helps in a fruitful journey. It is insights that facilitate better learning and learning leads to better experience. The moments of reflection help one gauge what additional support one mind need and how to adapt.

Reflecting on our career goals is like having an honest chat with ourselves about where we're heading. It's more than just a progress check; it's about staying true to what really matters to us professionally. It helps us celebrate the wins, big and small, and turn challenges into learning moments. Plus, it's a great way to keep our motivation tank full and our career GPS on track!

Love the SMARTER model for goal-setting! It's like having a personal career coach in your toolbox. Breaking goals into smaller, achievable chunks and tracking progress makes the journey feel less overwhelming. The key, I find, is in the 'ER' – Evaluate and Revise. It's not just about ticking boxes but learning from the process and being flexible enough to pivot when needed. This approach keeps our goals fresh and aligned with our evolving careers and personal growth.

Multiple popular models can help people reflect on one's goals. The principle that I follow is the 3:2:1 principle. Here 3 refers to any 3 small steps that one has to take now to ensure the achievement of a bigger goal. 2 refers to any 2 additional resources that might be helpful. 1 talks about any one improvement that can facilitate progress. For example: One who wishes to be promoted to a leadership role can follow the 3:2:1 principle like this. The three things that can be done now are - reviewing the current skill set, getting a leadership certificate, and talking to the HR department about the same. One can also think about 2 people who can help you guide better. One thing to improve is communication skills. So, 3:2:1 - Happy Success!

To become our best selves, we had to go through our worst circumstances. And if you're able to rise from those moments, you're rewarded with a growth mindset— the most prized possession you could own.

To be resilient, we must have the ability to keep learning, appreciate even the smallest achievements, and always remember the ultimate goal of our journey.

Resilience comes from learning after difficult experiences. And the key is to take responsibility, only then you can break free from negative patterns and find liberation. As Minuchin once said “What keeps people stuck is not seeing their own participation in the patterns that bind them. What liberates you is the ability to see your role in those patterns."

Personally, I've found jotting down daily wins and challenges helpful in terms of reflecting on my day/work. It provides clarity and also serves as a tangible record of growth. Some mindful introspection through meditation or journaling can also be very beneficial for building resilience.

I love journaling as a tool for reflection. Here are a few of my favorite prompts that cultivate resilience when it comes to your career goals. You can do them weekly, monthly, or even quarterly! - This week/month/quarter I accomplished… - This week/month/quarter I learned that… (note something that you learned about yourself) - I am proud of… (note something that you did)

In my experience, we are all resilient in some fashion. We each handle a lot in our daily lives and find the motivation to tackle each day. Each person however is different in how they face challenges. Some run for it and are excited to work through tough times. Others aren’t so excited to do so. It all depends where you want to get in your career. Those that rise through the ranks, become an entrepreneur or other stressful role, seem to have a greater tolerance and can bounce back from the demands. Some say business isn’t personal however it is very personal. We bring the same feelings to work as we have in other parts of our lives. Having the confidence and grit to work through many of these feelings are what makes people resilient.

Resiliency it’s really a self awareness. Knowing you are the one person that controls your outcomes. Taking charge of what you can control and give up the stress of trying to change things we can’t. Everything we do is a matter of a choice. Big or small. Daily actions. We really design our lives singlehanded. Most people live based on accidental actions. They’re not focused, productive and certainly easy to throw of the path they desire to be on.

Resilience reflects our level of confidence, a crucial trait and essential skill when navigating career success and journey. The more resilient we are, the more confidence we have in our own ability to manage setbacks and overcome challenges. This, in turn, helps us to handle any stumbling blocks that come our way and helps us to rise above them. It helps us to continue progressing vs.regressing.

Resilience is almost nothing other than the willingness to accept whatever you face and try again. To allow there is no such thing as defeat. Life is only a learning process. To never give up thinking that you aren’t worthy of the next hill you’ll summit. Every single one of us is facing an insurmountable hurdle. The ones who get to the other side realize that there is only one attempt after another until you get to the other side. When you fail, pause and reflect on what you learned, and get up and do it again. It’s all we’ve ever done as humans. It’s in our DNA to persevere. Never ever give up.

Josh Bersin underscores resilience's pivotal role in tackling professional challenges. It boosts adaptability and performance amidst adversity. Tips: -Mindset Shift: Adopt a growth mindset for learning from challenges. -Emotional Regulation: Develop emotional intelligence to manage stress effectively. -Social Support: Build a network for guidance and encouragement. -Goal Setting: Break larger goals into tasks, fostering a sense of achievement. -Self-Care: Prioritize well-being through exercise, sleep, and mindfulness. -Adaptability: Embrace change, seeing it as a constant. -Learn from Setbacks: Extract lessons from failures as stepping stones. -Proactive Problem-Solving: Approach challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset.

Just last year, a colleague of mine faced a career crossroads. She worked in a role that didn't fully utilize her skills. Instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, she started volunteering for projects outside her job scope. This not only broadened her skill set but also showcased her potential to senior management. Six months later, she was offered a role she had always wanted. It's amazing how stepping out of our comfort zone and taking initiative can open doors we never even knew existed!

Don't let your career alone defines your identity, and who you are. Your worth is innate, and your resilience comes from that space. Face realistic challenges, and prove to yourself that your resilience can get you through this.

Resilience is a state of mind that can be trained with experience. In my dictionary, resilience is the ability to not only take the control of the gap between stimuli and response but by being in peace with any stimuli that life might put on your way. When I say "Being in peace", I also mean looking at the lessons you will learn from every challenge coming your way. You can only build this resilience by reflecting on your career path and the tremendous amount of lessons you learnt through the years. Every challenge comes with its equivalent advantage. Resilient people celebrate the lessons, look their fears in the eyes and break them while using them as stepping stones to move higher in their journey of growth. Self-Reflection is power

David Goggins is an ex-navy seal and ultra marathon runner. Goggins is renowned for his mental toughness, resilience and ability to push past the perceived limitations of the human body. If you are looking to dive deeper into the topic of resilience, I would recommend reading his book "Can't Hurt Me"