Sital Ruparelia

Fitness Headlines

“Become A Perfect Size 10″

“Create A Dream Six Pack in 6 days”

“Lose 10 pounds in 10 Days”

Career Headlines

“Find Your Ideal Career”

“Find The Perfect Job”

“Find Your Dream Career”

What Have the Two Sets of Headlines Got in Common?

Well, apart from the fact that newspapers and magazines are full of such headlines during January, both sets of headlines are idealistic and unrealistic for most people. They may help sell publications and products but the overall premise of suddenly finding your ideal job or optimum weight is an ideal that most people cannot attain very quickly, or sustain over the long term.

The Problem with the ‘Perfect 10′

The search for perfection (which is ultimately flawed) results in failure, a knock in self-esteem and eventually a ‘what the heck, I’ll have a dessert!’ moment.

So instead of aiming for 100% perfection and excellence in your career (or health), it’s much more effective (and wiser) to aim to be healthy and happy in your career ‘most’ of the time rather than all of the time.

Being a 7 is Just Fine

There’s no such thing as the ‘perfect 10′ or the career that scores 10 out of 10 all of the time. I love what I do for a living – but there are still aspects which I dislike and I frequently have ‘bad days.’ That’s just life.

So instead of trying to be 100% perfect, focus on being successful and happy. Focus on finding work which you enjoy and are satisfied with at least 70% of the time.

If your job or career satisfies you 70% of the time, that’s good enough.

If you’re happy on average 3.5 days out of 5 working days, that’s good enough.

If you’re happy at work 35 weeks of a 50 week year, you’re doing well.

Forget the Headlines

So the next time you’re in a store and see a crazy headline encouraging you to ‘find your ideal job’ or ‘chase your dream career’, remember that it’s just marketing.

Tell yourself that ‘there’s no such thing as a perfect 10′ and instead focus on building a lifestyle and workstyle which, although not ‘perfect’, is enjoyable, achievable and sustainable over the long term.