I've been doing a lot of thinking of late about what it is that I enjoy doing and how I can do more of that. For some people they are really lucky and have clear passions or interests but I think for most people this is not quite the case. When people ask you if you could be anything or what is your dream job its not actually that easy to answer. What you enjoy doing and what kind of lifestyle you want to be able to afford are two very different things. Somewhere in between those two, some times extreme (a coach potato addicted to reality TV vs a McMasion on Sydney harbour) responses lays the best plan for your unique life. To get to this you have to peel off a lot of layers from the old metaphorical onion to know what is best for you.
I am still not quite there yet but I have found these questions have helped me so far to start drawing circles and seeing patterns around my general interests. What parts of my working day do I enjoy the most now? Really try to make this as granular as possible and you can build back a bit from there. Try not to focus on jobs that align with that just yet. At this point your trying to understand what is it you actually like. For me I found that I really enjoyed putting together presentations or spreadsheets and thinking about how to articulate a message in a clear and concise way that will lead to the outcome I am seeking. I also really enjoyed helping my team learn new bits of information and skills, challenging their thinking styles to see other view points. I enjoy the social interaction within the office but on my terms as I currently can come and go as I please. I could get closer to this and go into detail about what programs I like to use to articulate my messages or if there were messages I particularly liked to work with. Did I enjoy it more if the audience was internal or external? How did I like teaching my team, verbally one on one or in groups? Were there times I didn't enjoy it and if so why? What types of conversations did I like having with my colleagues, personal day to day chit chat or strategies, ideas and office politics. Keep asking yourself more and more questions till you have totally stripped it back. What parts of my working day to people compliment me on? What I my strengths viewed by others? So here totally forget if you enjoy doing something or not, and just think about the times people have praised you. If you were to ask your colleagues or customers what would they say? And again try and strip it back as much as possible. For example a colleague may say Louise is really good at big picture thinking but not so much on the finer details. That's fine, what scenarios of big picture thinking it is the overall customer experience, or the negotiation in play, is it the company's strategy or an individuals strategy. Think about the time in particular and what it was that made them say that about you, what actions drove that response? When you were a child what did you enjoy doing? I found this question to be really thought provoking. I had a great childhood and have a lot of happy memories so it was fun for me. It may be more difficult for others but I think most people can recall what made them happy as a child. I remember I was obsessed with making cards. I liked drawing pictures on the front, I used to quill paper so I would make pretty flowers and whatnot's on them and then I would set up a little stall in our family room and make everyone buy them off me. I enjoyed the creative process, being a maker, and I liked the purpose. So from this I know that to create I need to know the outcome of what I am trying to achieve. I also liked handling the money in monopoly or playing the shop owner when playing groceries with my friends. In all of my favorite childhood memories I am creating or constructing something. Be it cards, houses made out of hay, huts and Plasticine figurines. Spend some time on this question and try see your childhood back through your inner child's eyes. As adults we learn to be quite dismissive of child's play, it has shaped you greatly as a person so stop and reflect. What absolutely has to go? All jobs will make you slightly uncomfortable. There will always be something that makes you a little tight in the chest when you think, oh I have that on tomorrow. But there are other things, at least I know in my current job there is, which I really stress and dread over. It rolls over and over in my mind and it makes me feel awful, trapped almost. Understanding whats just a pain in the ass and whats really causing you to suffer will help you not overlook opportunities that could be really fulfilling and rewarding Once you have taken the time to think these through hopefully you will have a couple of buckets to refine. I am interested in creative therapies, small business ownership, writing, and business services. From there finding a few books that can give you more insight into the day in a life of can be really helpful. For example if I was interested in doing anything around therapy I would require some additional education. One quick easy way to see if this is just a romantic dream or something you actually want to do is to find out what the first year textbook list would be and purchase one (second hand will do) and read through the text. Finding something that keeps you interested enough to motivate yourself is the key. With writing I try to write something everyday. Most days this is fairly easy (as long as I have a purpose), if it felt like a chore every day then it probably wouldn't be for me. If you need a bit more help honing down the buckets try Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath. I will be reviewing this book later this year. Ii was once told that there a four very different things - a hobby, a job, a career and a vocation. A hobby is an interst, something you enjoying doing just for fun, a job gets you paid, a career is a path that you may not always be doing the role that you want but are moving up the ladder in the right direction to it and finally a vocation is what you were put on this earth to do, it sings to you. Not all of us will have or want to have a hobby, career or vocation but we all need a job so don't throw the baby out with the bath water and try not to stress too much. In the meant time I would love to hear what has worked for you to find your career path particularity around career changes please respond in the comments section below.
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AuthorWoman. Lover. Fur Mother. Creative Archives
December 2016
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