Racing Against Time?

Here in the frozen tundra, also known as Washington, D.C., it's been nice to have some indoor diversions. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi have dutifully entertained our family over the past couple of weeks, especially when frigid temperatures and multiple snow days have made it difficult to find something to do besides go sledding, make snowmen and lament yet another day off of school.

(That would be my husband and I lamenting, not my children.)

One theme at the center of the Olympic games is time. Athletes are either racing against it or making the most of the precious competition period they've been allotted. It's this high-stakes, temporal element, along with unbelievable athleticism, that provides us onlookers with a thrilling experience.

But time is tricky when it comes to discovering your career. Fast answers aren't always the best answers. Yes, of course, you have to pay the bills, so deciding on a job can certainly be a time sensitive task. But, more often than not, people are actually too hasty in their career choices, in all stages of life.

Ambitious young high school students don't want to hesitate in their response to an adult's question of "So, Young Lady/Man, what are your career plans?" Therefore many come up with whatever career sounds the most exciting and admirable.

(I myself could've won multiple awards for the doozies I drummed up.)

Then there are the older kids, students attending expensive colleges, (wait- isn't that a bit redundant?) who race to declare a major lest they appear to be wasting their parents money. However, according to the abysmal stats on graduation rates, length of time in school and limited use of selected majors post-graduation, it appears that those declared majors might as well have been chosen during a rousing drinking game of Quarters.

Grown-ups continue the trend of hasty choices as well, making career decisions reflecting their own social pressures: the proverbial rat race. Many adults fall prey to keeping up with their colleagues, racing to the next level, even if they don't know why they want to get there in the first place.

You know the old saying, "I don't know where I'm goin' but I'm sure making good time?"  I consider that the official motto for the rat race. And when asked the question, "So, how's your job going?" few people dare to be honest and say, "Well, it's okay, but I feel as if I need to explore other options more in line with my abilities."

Even those embarking on retirement feel pressure to have a response to "So, what are you going to do with all of that time on your hands?" I'd wager that, at their retirement party, 10 out of 10 employees prefer to say, "Play golf" as opposed to "I'm going to work with a coach to do some interest and talent exploration."

Talk about a party buzz killer!

In other words, it's marvelously expeditious- if not expected- to make a career or life decision just so you can say you've made a decision. 

But it takes courage to take the time to wonder, especially out loud, what you need to do to satisfy your talents.

The solution, obviously, is not to slap a giant yellow "UNDECLARED" post-it note on your head, clap your hands and call it a life. Instead, it means having the guts to ask for help in creating a purposeful, thoughtful exploration of what you want- or need- to do with your time, abilities and interests.

Because unlike the Olympics, there is no race to the finish line. Acknowledge this by allowing yourself some guided reflection time. Take advantage of opportunities to assess your abilities, gather unbiased information from those who share your interests and ask yourself some pointed, educated questions.

And if your wondering about the payoff...

It's worth its weight in gold.


photo credits: via Creative Commons, wikimedia
speed skaters
pixabay 
frat party via Flickr
golf course
post-it note
gold medal

HELP! What if I Want to Do It All?

This is the question I get from so many people, but especially from students, who feel that focusing on one single path in life just isn't going to satisfy their hunger for a variety of interests.

But I always have an answer ready for them, which is: If I can settle on a career path I love, so can they.

I've always had so many interests that fascinate me with so little time to pursue them, and I still sometimes wonder why days couldn't be at least three hours longer. So how did I decide on a career path that could satisfy this hunger? Especially one that had a lot to sink my teeth into?

Here are the top five reasons why my career path (which, as you know, involves helping others build theirs) works for my varied interests:

1. Career coaching has loads of variety inherently built in.  My days and weeks vary quite a bit, dividing my time between writing and reading and coaching and speaking. Plus I get to work with fascinating people of all different ages, backgrounds, locations, interests... and career fields, of course. Believe it or not, I feel as if I'm satisfying the explorer in me by living vicariously through my clients.

2. It requires me to solve a variety of complex problems that are similar in nature but never the same. This gets to the heart of what my brain needs to feel stimulated: I need lots of problems to solve that involve people. And I'm good at it too, which is probably why I like it! Success makes everyone feel energized.

3. I decided that the best way for me to be able to experience multiple interests in life was to have my own service-oriented business.  This means that when I want to gradually shift my focus I can, without feeling as if I'm totally losing ground. If I had a manufacturing business, for example, my freedom would be a bit more restricted, as changes would mean wasting inventory.

Another entrepreneurial bonus? Having my own business allows me to quench my thirst for novelty, such that I can invent new ways to do things- and incorporate more interests- like writing, travel, research, photography, art, and whatever else piques my interest. Of course, I don't incorporate everything all the time, because I don't need to.  It's all about prioritizing my interests, rather than trying to do too much and creating a piece-meal, random mess of crisscrossing paths. Which leads me to the next point...

4. Finding an essence is key. I got to the essence of what I enjoyed most about my top interests. Once I looked at all of my seemingly disparate fascinations, I realized most of them centered around psychology, human behavior and personal stories.  Career choices, aptitudes and journeys inhabit the bulk of my work, so it's a perfect match for me. It's like penning a symphony titled, "Variations On a Theme."

5. Wants aren't needs. I realized that there are certain things I like to do and certain things I need to do. In fact, this discernment is key in prioritizing your interests. For example, I like to paint, but one painting project once or twice a year will pretty much do the trick. And singing is another passion of mine, which I really enjoy doing. Performing about once a week plus light rehearsing seems to be a good frequency; however, I found that doing it everyday, on a professional level, proved to be a bit much.

So as far as the needs are concerned: I need to read- a lot.  And reading human interest stories and career journeys (mostly found in biographies) is just something that I do for fun, whether I'm paid to read them or not.  I'm truly drawn to this type of information gathering. My other needs: to write, share ideas and to help people on a personal level. If I don't accomplish these things very regularly it's difficult for me to feel like I'm making a difference.

So you might be wondering, are there other career fields out there-entrepreneurial or not- that have variety built in?

The answer is a resounding "Yes!"

But...

All career paths require the person with multiple interests to think and plan creatively. Beyond finding-or creating- a single dynamic career path, satisfying a variety of interests entails carving out special time to do important activities that really don't need to be done every day, all day, on a professional level, but that still need a place in your life.

And that's okay, because your ideal career, no matter how varied, will never satisfy everything on your ever-evolving list of interests. But it can, if crafted with careful consideration, satisfy the fascinations you want to grow and develop the most.

Photo credit: Creative commons via Flickr