What three words describe how you want to feel when you achieve your career goals?

Now that you’ve created a career target and have a clearer idea of where you want to go and what you want to achieve, there’s another important question to ask yourself: How do I want to feel when I reach my goal?

This is my favorite question to ask my clients. Asking them how they want to feel is something they have never asked themselves. They’ve spent so much time focusing on what they want to achieve that they haven’t stopped to consider how they want to feel when they get there. I find my clients need a few minutes to think about their answer because it’s a new concept for them.

There’s a saying, “Let’s get to the heart of the matter.” And that’s exactly what this question does. It takes your goal and moves it from your mind into your heart. When you connect your goal to how you want to feel, it becomes more personal and meaningful. It helps you focus on what truly matters to you and gives you another reason to stay motivated as you work toward achieving it. How you want to feel is just as important as what you want to achieve.

How do you want to feel when you find success?

  1. Define What Success Will Feel Like: Ask yourself what three words describe how I want to feel when I achieve my goal? Don’t focus on the job title, salary or promotion. Focus on the feelings you want to experience.
  2. Choose Your Three Words: Here are a few examples of how you might want to feel:
    • Confident, Trusted, Independent
    • Strategic, Empowered, Respected
    • Confident, Proud, Successful
    • Excited, Confident, Accomplished
    There are no right or wrong answers. What matters is that your three words mean something to you.
  3. What Truly Matters to You: Why are these feelings important to you? What do they tell you about the kind of career you want and what success means to you? Your three words can help you recognize whether the opportunities you’re considering will give you the sense of achievement and satisfaction you’re looking for.

3 Key Insights

  1. Success is personal. Knowing what you want to achieve is important. Knowing how you want to feel when you get there makes your goal more meaningful.
  2. Your feelings can motivate you. Connecting your career goal to how you want to feel gives you another reason to stay motivated as you work toward achieving it.
  3. Your three words can guide your career decisions. Understanding how you want to feel can help you recognize which opportunities will bring you closer to the career you want.

Self-Reflection Questions

  1. What three words describe how I want to feel when I achieve my career goal?
  2. Why are these three feelings important to me, and what do they tell me about what I really want?
  3. How can I use these three words to help me make decisions about my career?

Congratulations you now have a career vision and goal and three words that describe how you want to feel when you get there. Now I want you to visualize your 3 words on a mug and I want you to imagine this mug sitting on your desk (A post it note works too!) I want you to see it every day to remind you how you are going to feel when you reach your goal! It’s a simple but powerful reminder to keep you focused and motivated as you work toward your career goals.

Coming Next: Career Clarity

Now that you know where you want to go and how you want to feel when you get there, the next step is discovering what energizes you. In next week’s Linsight Brief, we’ll explore how understanding what gives you energy can help you find a role that brings you satisfaction and fulfillment.

Linsight Field Notes

What I Did Wrong

I never thought about how I wanted to feel because I didn’t have a clear vision of what I was aspiring to do or become in my career. I could dream about the possibilities, but because I hadn’t defined what I really wanted, I couldn’t imagine how it would feel to achieve success.

What I Learned

  1. Once I defined what I wanted from my career, I started getting excited about the possibilities of what I could do next.
  2. Thinking about how I wanted to feel when I reached my career goals, gave me more motivation to go after what I wanted. I began to believe it was possible.
  3. I realized that achieving my career goal wasn’t just about what I wanted to accomplish, but also about how I wanted to feel when I got there.

What I Did Differently

I began visualizing what my career would look like and how I would feel when I had the job I wanted. I have a mug sitting on my desk that says Grow & Thrive. It’s a daily reminder of what matters to me and what I want to experience in my career. Those two words also remind me of how I want my clients to feel about themselves and what they’re capable of achieving after our coaching sessions.

Key Takeaways

  1. Success is more than reaching your goal. It’s also about how you want to feel when you get there.
  2. Your feelings can be a powerful motivator. Knowing how you want to feel gives you another reason to pursue your career aspirations.
  3. Keep your three words visible. Let them remind you of what you’re working toward and why it’s important to you.