“Heroes are made by the path they choose, not by the powers they are graced with.” | Marvel Universe |
by John Paul Ponnudorai
It’s a great time to be alive right now, with the all the options laid out before us for even the most basic things, such as ‘what phone should I get?’ But it’s also not easy to live in our times with the vast number of decisions we have to make for something as basic as the phones we use. Can you see the dilemma, these are confusing times, and it gets harder when dealing with more complex situations, like what is the best career pathway for me? What do I want to be? What should I study? Where should I study? We have come a long way from just deciding between ‘hunter’ and ‘gatherer’ with the range of career option available to young people today.
"These are confusing times, and it gets harder when dealing with more complex situations, like what is the best career pathway for me? What do I want to be? What should I study? Where should I study?"
First things first, we must understand and accept that each and every one of us have natural abilities (or gifts), things that we are good at, and this is true whether we know it or not. It is like air, it is there whether we know it, believe it to be there, see it, or not. The sooner we begin to understand this, the easier it will be to map out our future. But how do we do that? I believe that there are 3 main things that we need to be aware of to help start our professional journey. These are:
Recognising our natural abilities - these are skills that we easily pick-up along the way, things we are very comfortable and confident doing or thing that are easy for us to learn. Recognising our natural abilities may give us an indicator of the industry or type of trade we may want to be in. This then narrows down our course selection options.
Understanding our personality - this speaks of our character, behaviour patterns and learning styles. Personality is a subject of study in psychology. Studying our personality will give us a more scientific understanding of ourselves in a way that makes our character and interests easy to understand and explain. Knowing our personality will help guide us whether certain jobs or trades are things we would feel comfortable doing.
Believing that we have a purpose - we all have a purpose and with that comes the gifts or natural abilities that we are to nurture in order to fulfil our purpose. We are by design a purpose driven species, which is why we function best when we have goals and are working towards them. This belief is what pushes us to reach our potential even when things get tough.
Recognising our natural abilities, understanding our personality and believing that we each have a purpose are the very tools that young people need in order to make well-informed decisions about the future. This is not to say that we do not attempt things outside our comfort zone, but rather, that we are able to start by building a foundation on our areas of strength, while improving on other areas at our own pace.
by John Paul Ponnudorai
About the Article Contributor and Missing Link Consultancy :
John-Paul and Mark found that their biggest inspiration came from their own experiences. After school ended, they wondered 'what next?' and 'how were they supposed to get there?'. They figured the answers would be found at education fairs and college open day events. Having attended many of these events, they still found themselves in the same spot that they were in before, still wrestling with the same questions and over time, they came across so many other who faced similar challenges. As most ventures start out, they decided to look at the gaps within the system itself. They reflected on what support and guidance they themselves would have liked to receive back when they first stepped out, and their solution was Missing Link Consultancy. They believe that every one of us has our own edge, skills or abilities that comes naturally to us - and often times we don't realise what they are. Through Missing Link, their goal is to help each person connect these dots. This coupled with a strong understanding of career options and workplace realities helps them support every person, regardless of age, gender, colour or creed with the tools they need to map out their unique pathway. Education has always been close to their heart. Between the two of them they have a cumulative experience of 30 years of equipping and empowering young people, and they are not looking to slow that down. Check out their website for more information at www.missinglinkconsultancy.com
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