What You Should Remember to Plan Your Career Better
Make the person you will be in three years feel real right now. Every important task you finish today is a real gift to that future person. Don't let the person you are now take time away from the person you will be.
Build a collection of valuable skills that you can update over time. Think of it as upgrading your basic way of working, not just trying to reach one specific job title.
Focus on work that grows in value over time, like networking, sharing your knowledge, or learning AI. If a task doesn't create useful records or assets for your future self, ignore it.
Motivation comes and goes, but your main goal should be steady like a laser beam. Keep your long-term vision clear, even if you have to be flexible and quick about the steps you take to get there. Keep moving forward through problems without losing your purpose.
Changing Your Career Thinking
The biggest mistake you can make in your career today is acting like your future is something you have to pay for with hard work and unhappiness now. For a long time, we were told the wrong things about working hard. We were taught that drive is like a gas tank—a limited amount of willpower we have to use up to get to one distant paycheck. This old way of thinking treats your job like something you just have to get through, making you suffer now for a reward that feels like it belongs to someone else. This system easily fails when things get tough or the work becomes overwhelming.
The truth is that the career path that goes in a straight line is gone. We are now in a time where our identity constantly changes, and the only way to stay focused is to stop chasing fixed targets and start changing as things happen. When the world is changing fast, sticking to a plan you made twenty years ago can hurt you.
To stay strong while everything around you shifts, you must feel emotionally connected to your future self based on what you do today. This change builds a new kind of Career Value: the mental link that makes your long-term plan feel like a real, present-day activity. Focus is no longer about forcing yourself to reach a final spot; it is about making the effort to become the person your future needs you to be.
How Focus Changes: From Force to Identity
The focus shifts from needing to use your limited self-control and waiting for outside rewards to building a strong sense of who you are and feeling connected to a good future self.
What Drives You: Willpower Fuel Tank: Seeing motivation as something you force yourself to use, like running out of gas.
The Main Goal: A Fixed Spot: Trying to get a specific job title or a certain amount of money.
How You Succeed: Waiting for Payoff: Choosing to struggle and feel bad now in exchange for a reward much later.
Result: Getting Tired and Breaking Easily: This system fails the moment you feel tired, stressed, or bored with what you are doing.
What Drives You: Connection to the Future: Feeling close to your "Future Self" so that your work feels like helping a friend.
The Main Goal: A Clear Main Direction: Following a strong reason "Why" that stays the same even when jobs or industries change.
How You Succeed: Always Becoming: Always changing who you are today to match the person you want to be tomorrow.
Result: Bouncing Back and Growing: You stay focused because what you do is tied to who you are, not just your paycheck.
The Identity Connection Plan
To help you focus for the long term and connect what you do now with your future success, use The Identity Connection Plan. This plan has three parts to help you rely on being true to yourself instead of just using willpower.
Part 1
These are the main rules that define who you are professionally, no matter your job or industry. They give you a steady guide that helps you through changes and when you feel tired. By focusing on your "Changing Identity" instead of just one fixed goal, you make sure your main purpose is always visible even when things around you change.
Part 2
A thinking exercise that makes your "future self" feel like a close, personal friend who needs your help. This closes the gap between you and your future self by making the rewards of your hard work feel immediate and personal. When you see your future self as a real person you care about, your brain stops seeing hard work as a loss and starts seeing it as being kind to yourself.
Part 3
A regular process for updating your methods and habits based on who you are becoming, instead of who you used to be. This stops you from getting stuck on old career paths that don't work in today's economy. By regularly checking if what you do every day still supports your changing identity, you stay focused without ever running out of "Willpower Fuel."
First, decide on your Main Direction Marker. Then, use the Close Contact Rule every day to motivate your actions. Finally, use the Changing Habits Cycle in your monthly check-ins to make sure your actions match the person you are evolving into.
Tools to Help You Connect Your Identity
Main Direction Marker Career Searching
Finds skills you already have that can move to other jobs and points out different career paths based on your past work, turning what you can do into a clear direction.
Close Contact Rule Journal Tool
Records what you win and what you learn daily with an AI Helper, creating a search history that makes your future self feel closer.
Changing Habits Cycle Career Advice Tool
Acts like a wise mentor, asking deep questions to make sure your daily actions match your changing goals and keeps your "Willpower Fuel Tank" full.
Common Questions: Finding Your Way to Success Now
What should I do if I feel totally exhausted from work?
Burnout happens when your brain feels like it’s working for someone you don't know.
Thinking about your future self as a different person makes hard work feel like you are giving something away for nothing. To fix this, start seeing rest as a smart move to protect your career value, not just a reward you have to earn.
How can I focus on big goals when my day is already full?
The old idea of a steady career path fails because it asks for large chunks of time we don't have. Instead, focus on your "Changing Identity." Switch your focus from 10-year plans to small, 15-minute actions every day that show the person you are trying to become. These small steps make progress feel real right away, instead of far away.
What if I feel like a fake while trying to change my career?
Feeling like an imposter is just a sign that you don't feel connected to your "Future Self." In today's changing job market, your worth is not a fixed job title—it's how well you can change. When you feel fake, remember you are not pretending; you are practicing the skills your future self needs. Use your "Main Direction Marker" to guide you through the awkwardness of growing.
Our Belief
You are no longer just sitting in a career that follows a straight line; you are building an identity that changes as you go.
By treating your future self like a close friend instead of a stranger, you turn every challenge into something that increases your career value.
When the world is always changing, how you focus is your best advantage. Stop waiting for a final stop and start living the change right now.
Build for the person you are becoming, not the person you were before.
