What Should I Be When I Grow Up?
As a career and money coach, I see many clients at various stages of their lives—stay at home moms, recently laid off professionals, businesswomen, etc. But if there’s one comment I hear over and over again, it’s:
“I would follow my passion…if I only knew what it was!”
If you feel less than satisfied with your current situation but have no clue what you’d prefer to do instead, here are a few tips to get you started:
1) Follow Your Hot Tracks – I love this piece of advice from Martha Beck’s new book Finding Your Way in a Wild New World. She recommends that like a tracker who has lost their way on the trail, you need to return to your last “hot track.” For trackers, this is usually the last place they saw a footprint where they can better determine where the animal will go next and how to get back on the trail.
Similarly, if you feel lost in your career path, you need to go back to one of your “hot tracks” and recall the last time you felt some excitement or “flow” around any task– whether or not it’s directly related to your current job.
Was it when you wrote that web site copy? When you organized an event for 50+ people? When you baked that honey lemon cake from scratch? Whatever it was, do more of it. It many not necessarily point you directly to your passion (i.e., you shouldn’t necessarily quit your day job to open up a bakery just yet). But following your hot tracks will help you feel unstuck and free your mind to recognize clues as to your next steps.
2) Avoid Labeling Yourself – On the quest to find your “passion,” try not to label yourself too soon. I’ve had clients, for example who sense that they want to write or paint, but then quickly dismiss it because being a “writer” or “artist” all of a sudden carries too much baggage. When this happens, they often become paralyzed and never act, because the image is too overwhelming, too permanent or too difficult to imagine as themselves.
But realizing that part of your purpose on earth is writing, for example, doesn’t mean you have to go all out and start spending all of your time in cafes in your quest to pen the 21st century version of War and Peace (unless you want to). It simply means you might enjoy adding the act of writing to part of your day’s ritual. Starting small and avoiding grandiose gestures or labeling will help your purpose unfold naturally and organically.
3) Ask Yourself What Role Money Should Play- When grappling with the idea of passion in your career, ask yourself what you would love to do if money were no object. I know, this is probably surprising advice coming from a still-practicing financial planner. Money and income certainly play a role, but depending upon your situation, it may not need to be the central one.
If you are having trouble paying the bills or saving for retirement or other essential goals, then of course income should be a priority. Make sure you take a good look at your financial plan to get clarity around your cash flow and income needs.
But if there other reasons factoring into your career decisions—self-fulfillment, independence, future opportunities, family well-being etc.—then make sure you give them equal weight, or at least proportional weight. Otherwise you may allow money to drive your career choices, when perhaps it should take a back seat.
Good luck!
“I would follow my passion…if I only knew what it was!”
If you feel less than satisfied with your current situation but have no clue what you’d prefer to do instead, here are a few tips to get you started:
1) Follow Your Hot Tracks – I love this piece of advice from Martha Beck’s new book Finding Your Way in a Wild New World. She recommends that like a tracker who has lost their way on the trail, you need to return to your last “hot track.” For trackers, this is usually the last place they saw a footprint where they can better determine where the animal will go next and how to get back on the trail.
Similarly, if you feel lost in your career path, you need to go back to one of your “hot tracks” and recall the last time you felt some excitement or “flow” around any task– whether or not it’s directly related to your current job.
Was it when you wrote that web site copy? When you organized an event for 50+ people? When you baked that honey lemon cake from scratch? Whatever it was, do more of it. It many not necessarily point you directly to your passion (i.e., you shouldn’t necessarily quit your day job to open up a bakery just yet). But following your hot tracks will help you feel unstuck and free your mind to recognize clues as to your next steps.
2) Avoid Labeling Yourself – On the quest to find your “passion,” try not to label yourself too soon. I’ve had clients, for example who sense that they want to write or paint, but then quickly dismiss it because being a “writer” or “artist” all of a sudden carries too much baggage. When this happens, they often become paralyzed and never act, because the image is too overwhelming, too permanent or too difficult to imagine as themselves.
But realizing that part of your purpose on earth is writing, for example, doesn’t mean you have to go all out and start spending all of your time in cafes in your quest to pen the 21st century version of War and Peace (unless you want to). It simply means you might enjoy adding the act of writing to part of your day’s ritual. Starting small and avoiding grandiose gestures or labeling will help your purpose unfold naturally and organically.
3) Ask Yourself What Role Money Should Play- When grappling with the idea of passion in your career, ask yourself what you would love to do if money were no object. I know, this is probably surprising advice coming from a still-practicing financial planner. Money and income certainly play a role, but depending upon your situation, it may not need to be the central one.
If you are having trouble paying the bills or saving for retirement or other essential goals, then of course income should be a priority. Make sure you take a good look at your financial plan to get clarity around your cash flow and income needs.
But if there other reasons factoring into your career decisions—self-fulfillment, independence, future opportunities, family well-being etc.—then make sure you give them equal weight, or at least proportional weight. Otherwise you may allow money to drive your career choices, when perhaps it should take a back seat.
Good luck!