What Do You See?
In the early stages of finding your Nxt, it’s important to define what you want your Nxt to do for you. At this point in the process, you probably won’t be able to define the specifics of how you’ll do it, but you can use your mind’s eye to visualize the big picture of how your dream can play out in your future. You’ll have plenty of time to dig into the details once you’ve had the chance to focus on your idea, so don’t force yourself to dig in too deeply too quickly. Take your time. Watch your dream unfold before your eyes and imagine the possibilities of what could be.
For you, it might be seeing yourself in a new career—expanding your horizon to do the kind of work you’ve always dreamed of. Or maybe you can see building a life with someone new—getting married (or not), raising kids (or not), and experiencing life together. You might even see yourself moving from the small town where you grew up to a city where you’ve always dreamed of living or, like me, the other way around.
Whatever it is, taking the first step toward realizing your dream begins when you can see an ideal version of it laid out in front of you. What does that new career ideally look like? What would your best life feel like if you could spend it with your true love? Or, if you could imagine the most wonderful way to live in that big city of your dreams, what kind of life would that be?
Sometimes You Have to Close Your Eyes to See Clearly
At this stage of finding your Nxt, you have the opportunity to define the ideal version of what your dream could do to enhance your life. It’s not about listing the specific details about how it will work. Believe me, that will come later on, when you have enough information to create a plan to move forward. Right now, just close your eyes and imagine the possibilities.
When you close your eyes, you’re not limited by what you already see. You can paint a picture of the possibilities you want to create and design for yourself. You can use broad strokes to illustrate what you want your dream to feel like and do for you, allowing yourself to describe an ideal scenario for how you want your Nxt to be, with no constraints. No blockers getting in your way. No details about how you’ll do it. No limitations. Just a wide-open description of the big picture of what your Nxt step would do for you.
I had a coaching client (Tim) who was really unhappy with his job. He wanted to work with me to find his Nxt career move. When I asked him to tell me what he thought he’d like to do Nxt, he gave me a list of details for the job he thought he wanted. He said he wanted to get a program design job (with a specific title), in financial services, where he could work remotely but still could be connected to a team. When I asked him why he wanted those specific things, he responded, “That’s what I’ve always done in the past, so that’s what I figured I should do again.”
Hmmmm, I thought. That doesn’t sound much like a career move.
When I asked him if he could describe the bigger picture of what he hoped his new job would do for him, he was confused and unsure what I was asking him to do. He shifted in his chair and started talking about the salary he thought he could get, the hours he wanted to work, and the amount of vacation he wanted to get as part of his “package.” More details, but nothing indicating why he wanted to do that kind of work.
The reality was that he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
The type of work Tim described was all that he knew, and all he assumed he could do. He had never asked himself why he did that kind of work. He knew he was good at it, and his superiors confirmed that with pay raises, promotions, and bonuses, and since his last job had been in the financial services industry (and he did well there), he figured that was what he was best suited to do moving forward.
I asked Tim to close his eyes and imagine doing work that would excite and challenge him. He sat back, closed his eyes for about ten seconds, squirmed for a bit, and then opened them. He said, “I have no idea what that would look like.”
Tim had forgotten how to dream. It was more comfortable for him to talk about the specifics of what he’d done before rather than reimagine what he could possibly do in the future. To get Tim to expand his vision, I suggested he try to think about the ideal ways in which he’d like to work, instead of focusing on the job he had been doing, and in doing so, base that vision on capitalizing on all of his strengths and skills, as well as what he loved to do.
I asked him to close his eyes again, take a deep breath, and tell me what working would look and feel like if he could design it to be everything he wanted it to be.
“Anything I want it to be?”
“Yes,” I said. “Hell, if you’re going to take the time and effort to step into something new, why not begin by imagining how you’d design it for yourself?”
Tim closed his eyes (again) and slowly began to describe the ideal way in which he would want to work. He talked about capitalizing on the areas of design he thrived on, collaborating with members of a team, working in a company that valued his input and suggestions, and how he’d like to be responsible for developing new systems that would be meaningful and useful to a company. Tim realized he thrived when he was able to focus on his area of expertise, collaborate with others, make an impact within his company, and be appreciated for his work.
He opened his eyes and said, “I think I can now see how I want to work.” Yes!
We kept talking, he kept seeing more, and, eventually, Tim was able to define what he wanted his Nxt to do for him.
If you’re thinking about changing careers like Tim was, begin by letting go of the jobs you’ve had in the past. Instead, imagine what working would look like if you could design it for yourself. How would it capitalize on your strengths and skills? How would it challenge and please you? Think about how you’d like to work with others, why the work would be important to you, and in what ways you could grow within the job.
