LIVE, WORK, THRIVE

A sudden illness, financial crises, accidents and bereavements often painfully lift us out of the sameness of life. Covid was that many times over. Having done its worst, it now offers us a chance to reimagine our lives, professional and personal. And in this new world, it’s ok to aspire. But there’s a way to do it.

For this, you learn to first look inward, says career coach Kamran Tork, who has been working since inception with the Insead School of Business in Abu Dhabi, besides coaching companies and individuals. He found his calling in training, mentoring and coaching around 15 years ago after spending years unfulfilled at his job with a bank in Canada. Of Iranian origin, Kamran has lived and worked in the East, the West and Europe.

Kamran will tell you that a sure-fire way of pinpointing the right career path for oneself is by reflecting on the values that inwardly drive and fulfill us. ‘Generally speaking, we are not aware of our values,’ Kamran says.

He provides the metaphor of leaning a ladder against a wall, going up a few rungs, realizing it’s the wrong wall, climbing back down to prop the ladder on another wall and repeating the same mistake. ‘Unfortunately, if we don’t invest in this inner aspect then that’s what we will be getting more of,’ he says. ‘Our actions are the results of our thoughts.. if the inner doesn’t change, then we will constantly be producing the same outwardly.’

If you are stuck in unfulfilling jobs, then Kamran’s advice would be to list one’s top five values in order of importance. These could be autonomy and independence, monetary benefits, family life and creativity to name just a few.

‘It works as your inner compass,’ he said. ‘And if you are in an organization that doesn’t recognize and honour your values, then it just doesn’t work. More and more millennials are becoming aware of their inner world .. more conscious, and they vote with their resignation.’