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通常，人们认为获得成功职业生涯的关键，是找到你真正喜欢做，并能做得很好的事情。但你怎么能知道你真正喜欢做的是什么，并将其成为你的职业呢？这里有几个专家给的提示，来帮助你想清楚这一问题。

思考

你选择任何事情之前，首先花时间想想自己和你的兴趣所在。“想想这一问题，‘即使没有工资，你也愿意做什么事？’”整体健康教练玛丽莎•维卡里奥说道。“了解这个问题的答案能帮你发现你热衷于做的事情，这能引导你走向正确的道路。”

日记和冥想也许能帮助你明白什么事情能使你快乐，使你觉得有意义。想想你的爱好，在学校里你最喜欢的课程，你喜欢将你的成人生活描绘在怎样一个世界中。

网络

建立了你感兴趣的、想要探索的几个领域后，关键是将它们构建成网络，构建成网络，构建成网络，重要的事情说三遍。构建网络不仅能帮你将你希望的事情落入实处，如果这是你真正想要追求的领域，这也是学习这一领域的关键步骤。

临床心理学博士拉马尼•德法苏拉建议人们与自己感兴趣的领域的人进行交谈，以便收集重要信息：“问问他们的生活方式，每日的职责与任务，他们热爱这份工作，或讨厌这份工作的那些地方。” 一定要进行全面了解。“要与男人、女人、不同年龄层、不同生活阶段的人交谈，”德法苏拉建议说。“再问问他们，踏入他们的行业需要进行什么样的培训：文凭或实习，并要培训多久。”

尝试不同的领域

现在，你需要走近你选择的领域，用你能采用的任何方式，让自己切身体会这些领域。

“抓住每一个机会进行尝试——实习、志愿者、向某人学习，”德法苏拉说道。”有时现实与你的设想不相符合，你也许会发现你真正喜爱的事情。”

好好利用你建立起来的网络，向你认识的人询问他们公司是否有实习机会，甚至还可以问问他们是否需要额外的志愿者。切身体会你所想象的这个世界，看看你是否如你想象中一样喜欢这一世界。如果回答是肯定的，那么遵守规则，用百分之百的精力，完成甚至是最微不足道的任务，展现出最好的自己——你永远不知道哪一个志愿者或实习最后会变成一份正式工作。

正视现实：追求梦想 &付房租

你必须为你梦想的生活磨练自己的才能，你应该理想远大。这意味着在你感兴趣的领域，你可能需要花一段时间找到一份你满意的工作，也许在得到这份工作前，你需要上学或进行培训。

“正视现实，” 德法苏拉说。“如果你喜欢几个领域，发现有些领域比较难进入，有些领域可以试一试，看看你是否可以将它们混合起来。你得付房租，所以也许你得做些事情谋生，选择其它的领域。但找工作时不要只看钱——你要确保它是你的兴趣之一。”

设计一个混合的梦想职业

没什么比冷漠更能让你产生抱怨和压力，让内心对未来感到不安。如果你发现自己夹在两个职业兴趣中，纠结该选哪一个职业，试着将它们混合到一起。在这一点上，你真正受限的只是你的想象力。

德法苏拉解释说，“混合起来。也许你的兴趣是儿童、艺术、音乐和室内设计。那么选项可能是当老师，也可以是重点做儿童房间的室内设计。”如果你不确定从何处着手，请不要气馁。建立一个专门的职业需要花费时间。“有时混合职业需要花费一段时间，”德法苏拉说。“如果你的职业兴趣涉及到长期教育路径，你可能会去接受教育，然后也许在学生时代，或在职业入门阶段，将其它兴趣结合进来。”

德法苏拉自己选择了混合职业，因此她切身了解，混合职业需要花费时间，但这是值得的。“我一直非常喜欢新闻学和心理学，所以我现在撰写心理学领域的新闻评论，”她解释道。“它使我能够把我的专业知识带进新闻领域，但这花了我很长时间——这并没有关系。”

相信直觉

相信直觉对于你找到最适合你的职业路径非常关键。

“信任，你的，勇气，”德法苏拉强调。“你知道什么才是最适合你的——不要过度受到过分热心的家人、朋友等人的影响，他们认为他们知道什么最适合你。但这是你的生活 ——你想过哪种生活？”

如果你家庭中四代都是外科医生，这并没有多大关系——你完全可以成为一名作家、瑜伽老师、律师等。

找到你的“为什么”

在生活中找到你的最终位置，你必须找到你的人生目标——你为什么选择这一行业，为什么你做这件事情。你可能会发现，你想在职业中找到意义，让你觉得你生活地有意义。

“你必须找到你的‘为什么’，”企业家和纽约时报畅销书作家 •马丁•艾米解释说。”借用西蒙•斯涅克的话，“人们在意的不是你做了什么，而是你为什么这么做。要发现这一点并不容易，有些人永远也不会发现。我总是鼓励人们花一些时间思考他们为什么他们做这些事情，因为发现我的’为什么’ 深刻地改变了我的生活，使我找到我的目标： 帮助别人解决困难。”

7 Steps to Find a Meaningful Career Path

It’s often been said that the key to a successful career is to find something you really love to do and do it well. But how do you know what you really love doing and make a career out of it? We’ve got the expert tips to help you figure it out.

Reflect

Before you jump into anything, first take time to think about yourself and your interests. “Reflect on the question, ‘What would you still do even if you weren’t paid to do it?’” says holistic health coach Marissa Vicario. “Knowing how you would answer this question and also discovering what you’re passionate about can lead you down the right path.”

Journaling and meditating may help surface ideas about what makes you happy and feel purposeful. Think about hobbies you enjoy, what your favorite courses were in school and where you’ve always pictured yourself as an adult.

Network

Once you have established a few areas of interest you’d like to explore, it’s key to network, network, network. Networking will not only help you make inroads to land a position that you want, but it will also be a critical step in learning if this is the field you really want to pursue.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula recommends talking to people in your fields of interest to gather important information: “Ask them about their lifestyles, day to day responsibilities and tasks, what they love about the job, hate about the job.” Be sure to really make your rounds. “Talk to both men and women, and folks of different ages and stages,” recommends Durvasula. “And also ask them what kind of training is needed: school; apprenticeships; how long does it take.”

Try Out Different Fields

Now you need to get out there and immerse yourself in the fields you’re leaning toward in any way that you can.

“Take any opportunity you can to try them out—internships, volunteering, shadowing someone,” says Durvasula. “Sometimes the reality doesn’t meet the idea you had about the field, or you may realize that you found what you love.”

Put that networking to good use and ask your contacts about internship opportunities with their companies or even if they need extra volunteers for an upcoming function. Get immersed in the world in which you imagine yourself and see if you actually like it as much as you think you will. If you find that you do, be disciplined and showcase your best work by doing even the most diminutive task 100 percent—you never know what volunteer position or internship could turn into a job offer.

Be Realistic: Pursue Dreams & Pay Rent

You have to hone in on your talents and what is genuine for your life, and you should dream big. Doing that may mean that it takes a while to get a job in your area of interest, or perhaps you’ll need to pursue school or training before you can get the job.

“Be realistic,” says Durvasula. “If you do like several areas and find that some are impossible to get into and some can get going, see if you can create a hybrid. The rent has to get paid, so perhaps do something for money and develop in other areas, but don’t just take a job for the money—make sure it is one of the interests you have.”

Design a Dream Hybrid Career

There’s nothing like indifference to give you that nagging, stressful feeling in your gut about your future. If you find yourself caught between two career interests and you simply cannot, will not pick between the two, try pairing them together. You’re only truly limited by your imagination on this one.

As Durvasula explains, “Make a hybrid. Perhaps your interests are children, art, music and interior design. Options could then be teaching, but also having an interior design business with a focus on kid’s rooms.”

If you’re unsure where to start, don’t get discouraged. Building a specialized career can take time. “Sometimes hybrids take a while to develop,” says Durvasula. “If any of your career interests involve a long educational path you may want to get that ball rolling and then perhaps as you are a student, or once you start your career, build the other interests into it.”

Durvasula herself maintains a hybrid career, so she knows firsthand that it can take time, but is worth it. “I have always loved journalism and psychology, now I get to do news commentary on the field of psychology,” she explains. “It allows me to bring my expertise into a journalistic space, but it took a long time to get there—and that’s fine.”

Trust Your Instincts

Trusting your instincts is crucial to finding the career path that is right for you.

“Trust. Your. Gut,” emphasizes Durvasula. “You know what’s best for you—don’t get over-influenced by overzealous family, friends, etc. who think they know what is best for you. It’s your life—what do you want your days to look like?”

It doesn’t matter if you come from four generations of surgeons—it’s totally OK if you want to be a writer, a yoga teacher, a lawyer, etc.

Find Your ‘Why’

To find your ultimate place in life, you must find your purpose in life—why you’re here and why you do what you do. You may find that you need to feel purpose in your career to feel like you are leading a meaningful life.

“You have to find your why,” explains Amy Jo Martin, entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author. “In the words of Simon Sinek, ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.’ It’s not an easy thing to discover; some people never do. I always encourage people to spend some time pondering why they do what they do because finding my ‘why’ profoundly changed my life and led me to my Royal Bliss: helping others do difficult things.”

（责任编辑：职场达人）