ExodusMagApril2017

CAREER FOCUS
BENARD BUSHE
crisis may be exacerbated by national policy
that sponsors specific career fields and
negating others which are regarded as ‘not
national priorities.’ This places pressure on
those that may be gifted different to abandon
the need to find their strengths in those
areas they feel stronger just to be politically
correct. This leads to career crisis.
Career choice construction
More important now than ever – Part 1
Researchers in USA estimate that about two
thirds of humans have no idea what they
are good at or what their strengths are.
That implies many people would rather proceed
to choose careers by default and not
by design. I always say then, that in life, you
proceed by design or by default. If you do
not deliberately make a choice, choices
will be made for you.”
Default means that you take a guess and
just assume your instinct about what you
are good at is right. Design means you take
a deliberately calculated decision and effort
to find out those things you are good at
and proceed to make your choices based
on them. The African continent at present
shoulders many challenges socially, economically
and what have you and South
Africa is not spared of them. The need to
define ourselves especially in the career
choice construction has never been more
important than now. If we however have
many people unaware of what they are
capable of excelling at, then career
choice construction is going to be misdirected
and lead to many people doing
what they are not passionate about. The
In Mastering Career Focus book I said “this
is the crisis that causes pain when you have
to change careers somewhere in the middle
of your life because you made wrong
career decisions in the developmental
stages of your life.” There is need for balance
between national priorities and allow
people the freedom to pursue careers in
areas of their dominant ability and
strengths. In a sense that enhances your self
-image and sense of self-worth. The worst
thing that can happen is to have organisations
operating with workers with a damaged
and impaired sense of self-worth
emanating from the fact that they are doing
work they do not connect with.
Strengths refer to ‘those capabilities you
have cultivated and used in life situations
over the years.’ They include natural abilities
that have been horned and developed
to solve life issues. I always give an example
of eagles and sharks. An eagle should not
attempt a swimming career and a shark
should not attempt a flying career – but
both should focus on their natural endowments
as they do. Likewise you ought to
know your natural endowments. You have
to discover them because they are already
within you, you need not create them
within yourself. You are already endowed
with an ability to excel at some things –
awaiting you to discover and develop
them.
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