Is my career solid? Are my plans attainable? Lately many people have been asking some pretty serious and difficult questions about their professional lives.

Often times, recessions and layoffs surprise people and remove many comforts they have relied on for years and take for granted. Change can hurt, but it can also clarify things that matter to you. Sometimes being cut loose from a profession that was simply “comfortable” can lead you to one that fills your life with passion and purpose. people with the right outlook are able to assess their lives and work out a way

So let’s clarify: This isn’t an online visit to an academic advisor – this is an exercise that should make you officially take note of what you love to do and whether now is the time to move in that direction. If you follow the three-step process below, you won’t just be sitting back hoping a new job just appears. You’ll be doing something much more important; you’ll be working toward discovering what makes you happy and building some faith in yourself to pursue it.

A leap of faith always has to start with one step…

Step One - Ask yourself: What makes me happy?
What do I do well?
What do I enjoy reading and talking about?
How do my talents figure into my interests?

Start by thinking of times when you’ve enjoyed and excelled at a job, class or hobby. How did you develop your strengths in those occupations? The next stage of the exercise could be taking any aptitude tests a local career college or employment center might offer. If you haven’t yet chosen a service, make sure the one you choose has a diverse set of lists of training centers, schools or groups who will help you discover your true talents.

Step Two - Research your potential career options.
Public job centers are over-run. Fortunately, you can do a lot of legwork wherever there’s a computer online. Research how your talents are represented in the professional world, and what requirements are needed to get hired in those positions. Sites such as Career Explorer.net, Monster.com, Search4CareerColleges.com and Salary.com have volumes of information about job requirements, the educational certifications to get them, where these jobs are, and more.

Once you have enough information and questions about these new career areas, make an attempt to speak with people through informational interviews at these companies. Try out careers by shadowing professionals and signing up for open internships or part-time jobs.

Step Three - Make a list of your priorities.
After you’ve spent time on steps one and two, you may notice some strong preferences emerging. You might learn you don’t want to work behind a desk. That rules out jobs like accounting, banking, insurance and computer administration. You may be more suited to something physical or something that deals with meeting people in different locations, like marketing, transportation, construction or interior design. Keep your mind focused on making important discoveries that will help you choose a good career when the time comes.

The most important thing, however, is to keep it all in perspective: Just like the previous portion of your life, the career decision you make now doesn’t have to be forever. There’s a growing trend that most people change careers several times during their lives. This means that it’s normal to change from the job you choose right after graduating from high school or college, because it probably won’t be your career 40 or 50 years from now. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, but always keep your eyes open.