Life has never before been so busy, we have never before had so many choices and neither have we previously been so disoriented. I have been meeting people who’s professional lives seem to be amazing – great education, good jobs, promising careers, financial growth. Yet, they find no joy in what they are doing. Does this sound like you? – If yes, read on!
Let’s take John’s story
When he was young, John went to a great school. He listened to his parents, grandparents and teachers, he studied hard and had good marks. John developed various interests, some of them more practical that others, yet when the time came to choose a domain he’d like to pursue more seriously, he listened to the advice of the people who cared about him. Of course, his family, friends and teachers only wanted the best for him, the problem is that they all advised him to pursue a path that would ‘secure his future’ rather that to follow his dreams; and so he did. Now John has a good job, a good salary and a comfortable enough life, but he often looks back and wonders what would have happened had he chosen a different path.
Why isn’t ‘a good job’ good enough?
In school, the goal is generally to finish / pass / graduate, preferably with high marks. Once one’s done with school though, the next natural step is to find a job and work hard to ensure you can earn a living, for yourself and the family you’re sooner or later going to have. Unfortunately working in a domain that is uninteresting to you, for the rest of your life, isn’t easy. And the more you work in such a domain or job, the more unsatisfying and difficult it gets.
Once we have the courage to admit to ourselves we don’t like what we’re doing, two choices arise:
- Ignore your feelings and continue working in that job, live a (financially) comfortable life and seek satisfaction elsewhere, outside of the 9 to 5 – some people would say that even this is a blessing!
- Listen to your gut instinct, quit and find something else to do, something more rewarding and fulfilling, something aligned with your values and beliefs, something that makes you happy.
What’s next?
Thankfully, today it’s easier than ever to change jobs and domains. A degree is less important than your skills and abilities and you can learn to do pretty much anything online, for free or at a fraction of the cost of what institutions providing formal education charge.
Employers are no longer that impressed about certificates being flicked under their noses; your skills, abilities and experience, and perhaps some recommendations backing up the achievements you claimed to have had, are enough most of the time, and that’s if you choose to work for someone else. If you’d rather work for yourself, woohoo no certificates needed and you can always start a side hustle while keeping your day job.
The opportunities are endless and once you find the work you’d like to do, you can choose the way you want to transition from your current professional circumstances to the next. Here’s a post by Seth Godin, on how your job could be in the way of the work you’re meant to do.
