"The truth is I'm not a doctor or a lawyer. I'm not an airline pilot. I'm nothing really."
- lifelessonsfrommem
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Last week we talked about our passionate careers. We talked about how we have to work for the rest of our life so we might as well do something that we enjoy. Something that we feel that makes a difference. We also talked about how something that we enjoy is not going to be 100% all the time. It’s gonna be a job that has its ups and downs and it’s dull and it’s routine but overall we need to feel that satisfaction. We need to feel overall that this is where we are supposed to be. We may not be making a difference in people's lives directly. We might have to search how we are making a difference but I think with almost any job you can find that answer. I actually cannot think of any job that doesn’t make a difference and is meaningful to society. You’re just not going to always see it. However, if you feel that you need to see that connection, that difference directly and you just can’t see it, then that might be your first indicator that you need to change jobs or careers.
But how do I find the career that I am passionate about? How do I know if I am in the career I am meant to do? How do I know that it is meaningful to society and makes a difference?
I was in this predicament a few years ago. It was not to search for a career since I had just recently retired. It was more of “now what?” What was I going to do for the rest of my life? It took me a long time to find an answer for myself. One day I was reading and I came across this question:
If you lived in a world where everyone made the exact same salary, what would you choose to do for work?
I stopped and reread the question again. I wasn’t looking for a new job or a new career, but I was looking for “my passion”. I want to do something meaningful. I want to do something that brought me joy. And I want to do something different than what I have done in the first half of my life. As I reread that question, it really made me start thinking. What would I do if I didn’t have to worry about money?
This took me a while. I had to sit and think. Actually, the first thing I did was think of all the things I didn’t want to do. That seemed to be an easier list. And it did help me narrow things down. Then I was able to get creative with things that I did enjoy or at least wanted to try.
One of the things that I love to do is write. My entire adult life I’ve done a little writing, but nothing meaningful. Since I hadn’t done any large amount of writing, would I be good at it? I have always had the dream to write a book, but what do I know about writing a book? I don’t even know if I can write, or write for a long time and still enjoy it.
So I started this blog. I have always had an opinion about things and I love to do research. A blog is something that is small, the only expectations are my own, and if I don’t like it, then I stop writing in it. It seemed like a win-win. I took a class at the local community college about what a blog actually was and how to start one. I knew nothing about this. I didn’t even read blogs. But I jumped in with both feet. I learned how to make a web page, I designed it to represent me, and then I started writing.
When I first started writing, I had to have a clear idea of what my guidelines were. First, I wanted to reflect back on all that I had learned, starting with my role model, Memaw. Then I decided that I would do this for one year. That would be enough time to see if I liked it or decided it was not for me. Then I made a schedule I had to keep up with. I would write and have a blog posted every Friday morning. Finally, I made the conscious decision that this blog was not for anyone else but me. It was to fulfill my love of writing and to step outside my comfort zone. I don’t advertise; I don’t do “ad boosts”; I don’t even respond to messages on Facebook. I write, I post, and I write again.
Thankfully, there are a handful of people who read my blogs and do offer some really good advice. They are all family and friends, so they text me about what they liked and what they think I could have done better with. I truly appreciate all their advice and sometimes I take it and sometimes I don’t, but I always want to keep hearing it.
I have been writing my blog faithfully for about 1 ½ years and I have found out so much about myself. The first thing is that I love to write. I’m still a novice but I do get better with practice. I don’t know how long I will continue the blog, but for right now, I feel it is what I am supposed to be doing.
My next project is a book. I know what I am going to write about. I have the outline and have done extensive research. I have written a few pages but it is still brand new. I have no time line and not clear guidelines, so it is still in the planning stage. But I need to get out of that stage soon and jump. Boy, am I scared, but screw it. I’m doing it for me and if only my family reads the book (because I make them:), then that is ok with me.
If you lived in a world where everyone made the exact same salary, what would you choose to do for work?
Now, what about you? When you read that question, how do you answer it? If you’re like me, you might’ve struggled quite a bit! It took me a long time before I could answer that question confidently. But it’s sparked a lot of discussion in my head. Does it do that for you? Maybe you had a very easy time answering that question. If you did, then I really envy you!
Yes, I think that you need to be doing a job, a career, a hobby, or whatever you call it that excites you, that fills you with joy and makes you feel that you are contributing to society. You may not feel you enjoy every minute of every day. It may be your contribution to society in a roundabout way. But you do feel good doing it overall. If you feel that your job is worthless, it doesn’t fulfill you, it almost makes you sad, then maybe you need to keep asking yourself this question until you come up with some answers that you can act upon. On days where you feel your job is just going in circles like a merry-go-round and you’re barely putting one foot in front of the other, this might be a day that you need to ask yourself this question again. You might find that the job that you are doing is still a job that you feel fulfilled but maybe just not at that moment in time. Or maybe it’s time for a change.
Whatever path you take, happy trails!
Blog Website: https://www.lifelessonsfrommemaw.com/