This week I got a really interesting (and common) question in my inbox.
What is your suggestion for someone that is 34 years old and has no idea at all what they (I) want to do for the rest of my life? I have a decent paying job with every perk imaginable, but I want something more than just a “job”. I have thousands, literally, invested in self-help books. I simply do not have a clue where my passion is though. Most of what I enjoy as hobbies are things I could never make a living doing. Any thoughts?
My suggestion is somewhat simple to start with…
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First, don’t think of it as finding what you want to do for the rest of your life. That’s simply too huge an undertaking, and gets in the way of people really getting clear about who they are and what they want right now. Honestly, only a small percentage of the population is really able to see a 30 year career plan for themselves. The notion that everyone should have their whole life mapped out at 34 (or 44 or 54) - crazy making.
Let’s lower the bar a bit and bring in the focus so it seems more doable.
I usually ask clients to get clear about a window of time that they can ‘see’ for themselves – 3 years, 5 years is most common.
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Secondly, don’t think of your career as an ‘end game’ but rather as an evolution. Careers are like portfolios; so what is the next experience you want to add to your portfolio? How much risk are you willing to tolerate? What would it take to diversify you and make you more fulfilled? What direction are you drawn to grow toward? What small step would free you to try something new and exciting?
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Forget purpose and passion, at least for now. I believe the notion of “life’s purpose” and “passion” are highly overrated and create a big mountain to climb for most people. If we shrink the goal down and get it within sight, we’ll find our path to purpose/passion step by step.
The best way to find your ‘passion’ is to get clear on your core values. Look back over your life and identify up to 10 times you can recall feeling really happy/content/fulfilled/’in the zone’ – whatever words work for you.
Write about those 10 times that were peak experiences. Then look them over later and see what themes emerge. This can help you zero in on your values. When we express our values, we are happy and fulfilled. That’s the path to passion.
One more thing I’ll add about our hobbies and interests. They can be clues. You may not see the direct route to making a living doing the things that interest you. But once you get clear about WHY they interest you (clues to a core value) you can start to brainstorm career paths that touch the same ‘why’.
For example, let’s say you love to garden because you like to conceive, design and create a beautiful space. You may have a core value of planning or create and so you would want to find a career path that took advantage of your love for creating or planning – gardens are incidental to the core WHY.
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Shawn’s blog “What Should I Do For The Rest Of My Life?” is featured in the 4th Edition of the Leadership Development Carnival found at http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2008/10/leadership-development-carnival-4.html
“What you want to do for the rest of your life” –
I am asking myself that question, but am at a different stage of my life. I am 72, completed a business career and do not have a passion for a hobby or a specific line of volunteer work. At my age, you are supposed to do “retirement things.”
My wife is 20 years younger andplans to workfor another ten years. I want to do something, but don’t know what.
Nice post u have here :D Added to my RSS reader