Just like your private life, no job or career is going to be perfect and meet all your expectations. However, if you at least think about which things are important to your happiness and what things at which you have a strong desire to excel, you can come pretty close to being in the right place doing the right things. The more insight you have about yourself, the better choices you will be able to make. This requires an honest exercise of introspection and analysis, but the effort is well worth it. When you develop a laser-like focus on discovering who you are, then you will be able to more effectively develop a solid plan on who you want to become.

Your present job satisfaction level can be a very good indicator of how well you know who you are. Do you really enjoy what you are presently doing? Everyone has a bad day every so often, but if you are not generally happy at your job, it will eventually effect your work, your level of commitment to your work, those with which you work and even your personal life. If you enjoy what you are doing, believe in it, are committed to it and know why you chose it, you have probably taken the time to know something about yourself. It is very important to be in a job that is the right fit for you because job satisfaction is directly tied to job performance, personal success and your overall quality of life, both on and off the job.

There will be times you may have to stay in a job as a means of supporting yourself while training and preparing for a more desirable position. This is not a bad thing. It is just a time in your life when you are putting the puzzle pieces together or discovering and uncovering which path or direction is best for you to take. The important thing is that you take the time to discover your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, your talents, needs and desires, etc. Then you will continue to grow toward being all that you can be.

As you grow and experience new things, meet new people and gain new knowledge about yourself and the world around you, your choices will have a more positive impact on your overall happiness. Newly discovered information will help you know yourself better so you can more closely become the person you aspire to be. An important point to remember is that nothing is one hundred percent perfect or guaranteed. Life is about change. Career planning and job satisfaction, along with personal development, requires continual self-assessment. This in itself is an ever-changing lifelong process. So...take the time to get to know who you are, what you want and need, so you will be better equipped to know what you are looking for. Once you know who you are, improvement is possible.