15 Ways to Tell If You’re on the Right Path

“I’m unhappy, unfulfilled, and I feel like I’m in a quarter life crisis.”

Those were the first words out of the very first client I ever worked with. Two years out of college and working her butt off in the start-up world, something was missing. She no longer jumped out of bed each morning with excitement, and life felt like a monotonous journey, not the grand adventure she had imagined. She knew she had the potential to do something amazing that fulfilled her, but she didn’t quite know where to start.

The truth is, we all have the potential to do something amazing. We all possess an intense, passionate, and thoughtful self within us. And we all deserve to wake up motivated and fall asleep fulfilled because we are fearlessly giving that self to the world, doing something we love.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I on the right path?” or “Is this the work I’m meant to be doing?” or “How do I get started?”—this is where you begin.

With a new year, new day, and always the opportunity to change, it’s time to take charge. Here are some questions, inspired by Martha Beck’s Finding Your Own North Star, to help you get started by evaluating your work/love connection. Grab a pen, sheet of paper, and note either “often,” “sometimes,” “rarely” or “never” for each of these 15 questions.

1. I get excited every morning when I get out of bed.

2. I feel accomplished when I fall asleep.

3. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude.

4. My life feels like a grand adventure.

5. I have fun.

6. Things just seem to work out well for me.

7. I do things I love.

8. I feel on top of my game.

9. I get so involved in projects that I lose track of time.

10. People seem to enjoy being around me.

11. I do what I deeply want to do, even if it’s scary.

12. I have great ideas.

13. I feel so much love for other people.

14. I use my imagination.

15. I feel deeply understood.

Have your list of answers? Ok, good. Here’s how to score: If you didn’t answer “often” to every single question, your work/love connection could stand to be stronger.

How do you make it stronger? That’s what we’ll dive into next week!

This is part one of four articles focused on loving your work and unleashing your full potential. Next week, we’ll work on getting in touch with your “why,” so that you have context and purpose around everything that you do.

Stay tuned!

Check out more from Job Search Month at The Daily Muse

Photo courtesy of Andres Rodriguez.

About the Author

Amber Rae is a passion catalyst, authority challenger, and motivational muse. She imagines a world without a speed limit, where human potential is not governed by what we're told to be, the only fear is not giving enough, and the urge to share your gift cannot be restricted. This is the world she's creating, one person and story at a time. In the last 365 days, Amber worked with Seth Godin to launch the Domino Project, helped Derek Sivers turn his book into a best-seller, created a site that shares stories of remarkable people living unconventional lives, and launched a program where she helps people give their dreams direction. She's been seen in The New York Times, Inc., Forbes, BBC, and on ABC World News.