Who am I now and what should I be doing?

So now you have decided that change is a necessary evil. You aren’t happy with your life and it is definitely time to step into the unknown void and take some kind of leap of faith. The problem is that you still don’t have any idea of what to do. If you knew what you wanted, this entire process would have been much easier to begin with and you probably wouldn’t be searching for answers right now.

The good news is that no matter what your age, young or old, you can always change. It’s never too late to add a new dimension to your life. Besides, think of the extra excitement that will come into your life from the changes because there will definitely be a growing process if you embrace change.

So what now? You have made this decision to change and have no clue as to what to change or how to implement changes in your life. Well, for starters, take inventory of yourself and your life. What have you been doing? Did you like any of it? Were there portions that you intensely liked and other portions that were just the opposite? The key is to understanding yourself. Once you start writing down the known quantities, more will come out, more than you think will. Don’t forget to include both business and personal likes and dislikes. There may be something in your personal life that will guide you into a different business. Or maybe there is something in your business life that is directing your personal side. Either way, list all of it and then categorize any information accordingly.

There are plenty of resources to help with your self-discovery. Some options would be to go to a bookstore, library or even do your research on the Internet. Plenty of free information is available in addition to slews of information that can be provided for a fee. Be selective before forking over money to just anyone. There are career counseling services that charge exorbitant fees and do not really provide equal value. Fortunately, there are plenty of free resources.

What have you discovered about yourself? If you do all the above, you will make discoveries. Are you particularly skilled at something? How much do you enjoy doing what you are skilled at? A key point here is that just because you may be skilled at something doesn’t mean that you necessarily enjoy doing it. That is important because understanding what you don’t wish in your life can help you pinpoint what you do want. So if you are hard pressed to determine what it is that you want in a career path, start with what you know you don’t want to do. By eliminating the obvious, you have narrowed the choices and start zooming in on what you do want. Continue to do so until you have a few key areas.

Take those and start researching career paths. At this point, do not be concerned with lack of experience or education. Those will be a part of your process if they are necessary to your change. Right now, research is your goal. Look to see your interests can be related to other careers.

Don’t forget to even examine your own current career that has been making you so unhappy. Is there a way to start including more of the things that interest you and work away from the things that don’t? Have you approached your boss with ideas of projects that you want to do that would benefit both the company and yourself? You may find that the opportunities are right in your path and you have just never seen them before because you were making yourself so unhappy.

You may choose to do something entirely different and that is okay as well. Start researching what you want to do. Take a class, talk to others who do it. Have you been networking? If you aren’t networking, you should be. Networking is a key to having resources to help you on your way. It’s amazing how many complete strangers will extend a helping hand to others just for kindness. It’s a magnificent quality in the human race. Be sure to reciprocate when given the opportunity.

Now that you are becoming more involved in what you want out of your life, you will begin to see even more changes that can be incorporated towards your plan. This has a twofold effect. For one, you are concentrating less on what is making you unhappy which is good. The second is that by focusing on the steps to your goal, your goal will suddenly become the reality before you know it.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson

Jayme@workhorsecommunications.com
www.workhorsecommunications.com