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Nobody reading this post would be happy to imagine their career or even their life as a Fool’s Journey, I wouldn’t.
Mind you, the Fool is not foolish. In olden days, the court jester was always by the side of the King and had the right to say whatever came into his mind.
He often saved many a Nobleman from beheading though on occasion was beheaded too! It takes a certain amount of intelligence to keep someone as powerful as a King in good humour.
Here I am referring to the first card in the Tarot Deck, The Fool.
The Fool’s Journey is a metaphor for the journey through Life.
The first card of the Major Arcana the Fool card shows a smiling person with his belongs wrapped in a piece of cloth and hung at the end of a rod. One foot is stepping into the abyss below. He is followed by a dog that might be following him playfully on his journey. Perhaps even giving him the gentle nudge forward.
The Tarot deck shows the journey of the Fool through Life, his mentors, the people he meets, the events that the Fool encounters, the big decisions, the everyday situation until the journey is completed. The Fool comes a full circle with The World card.
Coming back to Careers, the job market has changed immensely in the last 30 years and the concept of a job for life is fast disappearing.
Visions of a gold watch and retirement party from the workplace where you would have joined straight after graduation still exist.
Yet for many, caught in the middle of the recession storm and redundancies, or being perceived as unemployable with irrelevant excuses of being too old or overqualified, the new world is a harsh place.
We are impacted by a host of other actions that companies take to adapt to changing times.
While good companies do implement procedures and policies to help the employee cope, one size does not fit all. Quite often, it takes just one small incident to set off the alarm and a wakeup call.
This triggers the thought it might be time to move onto something that makes the employee feel whole and capture that elusive work life balance. They feel the need for personal and professional development challenges. The person doesn’t want to be just a tiny cog in the corporate machinery.
In the post-pandemic world, this has led to a surge in the gig economy.
The employee starts to look with fresh eyes at his Wheel of Life and the length of the wheel spokes to regain balance.
The Fool Card is a Wake-Up Call for Change
I have often thought of this wakeup call and the aftermath as being similar to the appearance of the Fool card in a Tarot reading and the call to action that is conveyed.
The Fool in the Tarot deck represents a free spirit with a lust for life, knowledge, adventure and who is not afraid to take risks. It represents the innocence and naivety of a child who is curious and ready for new experiences and change.
The Fool doesn’t sit on a fence waiting for Life to come to him.
Instead, he takes the first step and is effective and proactive. He does not make choices out of fear and does not doubt himself.
As often happens, progressing through life, instead of using our past experiences and knowledge to help us make changes for the better, we become cynical and resistant to change and new experiences.
I’m not suggesting you take The Fool Card literally for the purposes of managing your career or your life. I’m recommending imbibing the enthusiasm for life that the card represents.
Like The Fool, be open-minded, eager for new knowledge. Accept your experiences, the twists and turns in your career or Life for what they are. Pleasant or unpleasant they are opportunities to learn and grow.
When that moment of clarity hits you, the first question that you need to ask yourself is, how are you feeling in the now?
Whether it is a situation brought on by redundancy, the desire to have your own business or the sudden realization that your current job is not giving you what you need, a whole host of questions do come to your mind.
Be intuitive and think about your feelings. This is a key to further logical introspection and getting to the root of the issue.
Getting it right is important. A wrong decision can have far reaching consequences taking you two steps back rather than one step in the right direction.
8 Powerful Questions you need to ask about your career
Assuming that you have come up with an option, some questions that you might wish to consider are:
Is this the right option for me to follow?
Will this option help me to gain a better balance in the various aspects of my life?
Have I understood the advantages and disadvantages of the option?
Where do I stand in the SWOT Analysis vis-a-vis this option?
Do I have a plan to make things work?
Do I have a plan B? Plan C? Essentially do I have a back-up plan in case things don’t work out the way I want them to?
What is the worst-case scenario for me?
What is the best that can happen?
When things are going bad or in the dumps, it is human to focus on the negatives rather than the positives of the situation.
If working out what you do want is difficult, then start with a list of what you don’t want and take it from there.
Look at the various areas on your Wheel of Life. Determine what is missing and what you want to correct, where the balance is missing and what you have been neglecting at the peril of your own happiness.
This one baby step will help you to identify your driver. It might just set you off on a new adventure, a new career or a move that’ll give you a chance at job and self-satisfaction.
Knowing your goal, it is easier to focus on the goal setting process and emerge a winner.
Go through the process of introspection. Find answers to the questions mentioned particularly for career decisions. Give a thought to what action would help you to rediscover and harness that youthful enthusiasm with which you started your career and the goals you had back then.
The Fool doesn’t throw caution to the wind. Consider and think about your motives in terms of the big picture, your life.
If you are motivated for the wrong reasons, then take a step back. Plan more, gather additional information, consult people who are affected by your decision. Then take the leap to change with confidence.
When was the last time you thought about your career? Is it time to introspect so that you can move on? I’d love to read your perspectives in the Comments Section below.
PS. Are you at a stage in your life or career where you are experiencing a Wake-Up Call? My Kindle book on this topic provides some precious insights. Click here to learn more.
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Written By: Vatsala Shukla
Updated March 2024 for relevance and content.
Old Tarot Cards by Talia Felix
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We often put a negative emotion on the fool. I like how you described it as an adventure.
I guess the word ‘fool’ creates the negative emotion Brenda, when in fact, when we study the nature of the Fool, one learns of innocence, trust and taking a leap of faith.
Fascinating- I had never considered Tarot for careers before. Thank you for the connection.
Delighted that I’ve shared a new perspective with you Denise. Every journey can be related to the Fool’s journey.
The Fool’s fearlessness and trust is a lesson for us all. Lovely post, Vatsala, drawing lessons from Tarot to help guide us through today’s turbulence!
Thank you Reba. When I started studying Tarot as a tool for guidance, I realized that it was a journey that can be related to our own lives and even our career choices. As you rightly pointed out, imbibing The Fool’s fearlessness and trust helps us to make the right choices at the right time, even during times of uncertainty and turbulence.
I love these self-reflective questions! I think they are good for many situations, not just for your career.
There have been many times that I’ve automatically said yes to someone even when I didn’t want to. If I was completely honest with myself and answered these questions, I might have had a different response!
Thanks for the food for thought.
I’m glad you found the self-reflective questions useful for situations other than for our careers, Jennifer. More often than not, a bit of honest self-introspection can yield a decision to take a very different course of action but one that is more aligned with our core being. Good to have you visit The Karmic Ally Coaching Experience Blog after such a long time!