We all have our interests. My interests range far from US Ambassador to Dietitian. All of these careers I’ve accepted are REALISTIC and DOABLE and every time I try something new, I have this urge that has me feeling like there’s something MORE I can be doing and I’m on this quest for that satisfying itch I can’t scratch. Why is this? Am I not living up to what I KNOW I can do better? Am I just getting bored easier than most people? What’s the “perfect” job for me? While perhaps I’m asking an unanswerable question, here are 7 ways to cope while you’re in this indefinite state:
1. Whatever it is you are doing now, DEVOTE yourself to it.
Do the job the BEST BEST BEEESSSSSST you can. It will give you experience, challenge you, make you work when you are not feeling up to it, and give you great letters of recommendation for when/ if you decide it’s time to leave.
2. Accept your place right here, right now.
(Watching the wooorld wake up from history…) where are you living? With whom are you living? What job do you have? At which grocery store do you shop? Where are you right now? You are there. And it’s okay. Actually, it’s more than okay- it’s perfect! Wherever you are right now ACCEPT it! That’s the first step to enjoying it and then taking it all in and making it all work in your favor! Living with your parents? Tell me about it! No really, ell me- start blogging, explore the many facets of your hometown. Write articles about your home for the local paper. Then, refer to #1- all of these activities will add up.
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”- Tibetan quote.
3. Stop Researching.
All I freaking did was look up academic program after academic program. It was all too much. I became so enthralled at the thought of “me doing that” that I became disillusioned and a little disenchanted. Remember with everything there will be a bounty of hard work and classes you might just hate. These moments will make you ask yourself, “Is this all worth it?” that’s a harsh question. You already have the answer to your question, it takes an hour of solitude and internal tranquility so you can be vulnerably honest with yourself. “The choice is yours and yours alone.”- Olmec
4. Be positive.
If this is your blood type (B+), you’re already there (hyuck hyuck hyuck). Just, come on… yeah this job may really make your skin crawl, but it all stems from immersing yourself in this position and learning all you can about the jobs me yourself. Be an information leech. Suck this job dry and know it well. Learn some news things about it. Above all, work time is WORK TIME, completely avoid looking up different jobs, Facebook, school programs, etc. Unless this is accepted by your supervisor. Even still, show your rock star focus and concentration at work by keeping these pastimes to a minimum. Showing self control, especially in a professional setting, shows others the best qualities of your character. Plus, like a sword polisher, you are honing and sharpening these lifelong skills for that future career. This is all worth it. Promise.
5. Smile.
How underrated is this?! A smile completely alters your psyche for the day! Sitting and smiling may make you seem a little strange, but it’s face exercise. The more you work out these important facial muscles, the easier it is to keep them mobile and flexible. Smiles can look genuine, psychotic, pushy, sad, or goofy. Work out your smile. You’ll look awkward in pictures if you don’t.
6. Interview people in the profession you are curious about.
When I was in school I had one on ones with numerous professors. “How did you choose this? What are your interests? Do you like the job now? How has the job and field changed since you first entered?” all of these quizzical conversations were interviews for the lifestyle of the person in this career. A major sounds cool on paper, a job may sound enlightening in an ad, but when you’re a seasoned worker in the job, you have a treasure chest of knowledge no piece of paper can explain. Ask the professionals. See what their days are like. Do you want a family and children? How have they managed to have all this? College teaches you so much about your likes and limitations, but out of this academic bubble, there’s a nitty gritty world and the veterans in this world are the best teaching tools.
7. “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” Bruce Lee, on his stages of learning.
How do we learn? According to Bruce Lee, we sit down with open ears and a closed mouth and DO the work. After a while we understand it enough to say this isn’t how I work, I am going to adjust it for my sake. Finally, can take years or decades, we have comprehended the material enough to add what is uniquely our own. We mold it and shape it so that we understand it and can relay it in our own way.
So, most of all, it’s all going to be okay. Devote your moments to the moment. Reduce the persistent, inculcating thinking and progress, naturally. Now, I must include this far too relevant disclaimer: “A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.” Hunter S. Thompson. When I say let it happen- DO SOMETHING and let the work happen. Please avoid sitting waiting for your break to come. Good things never come without hard work, but sometimes they come sooner than expected.
Check out the Occupational Outlook Handbook- always a good read and updated within the past 5 years. Here it gives the government statistics on Job descriptions, future outlook, requirements and more!
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/
I show this to my students and I hope a few, or even ONE, will take advantage of the site and figure out their successful future.
