Don’t know what to do with your life career-wise?
If you’re like me, you want to feel excited and inspired to work. You want a career in which you can thrive, not just a job that pays the bills to survive.
I know the struggle of feeling lost career-wise and having no clue what to do. I was in that place for years; a place of anxiety, dissatisfaction, and confusion. But not anymore!
In this article, Learn two legit reasons why you may be having trouble finding a career you enjoy. Along with real solutions to help you find your path career-wise. Let’s get right to it!
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Why don’t I know what career I want?
I’ve asked myself this question many times in the past.
It can feel frustrating, and downright painful to not have fulfilling work to do. To feel clueless and lost. Worse yet, to dread going to work each day.
The amount of anxiety and stress that the wrong job can inflict upon your soul is a serious problem you must resolve.
You deserve to be happy at work. Everyone, including you, has something worthy to contribute to society. And anyone who is persistent can find a career they enjoy most of the time.
There are many possible reasons why you don’t know what to do with your life when it comes to finding a career you love. You’ve probably considered most of them.
Here are two less common answers as to why you are having trouble finding the right career.
Reason #1: Your ideal career doesn’t exist at this point in time because it hasn’t been invented yet.
Human collective consciousness is on fire!
Everything is moving at lightning speed; technology, attitudes, and ideals. New organizations, businesses, and companies are forming every day.
It makes sense that one reason you can’t find the right career path is that your ideal employer or career does not yet exist.
Kinda cool to think about, right?
Let this possibility bring you hope and inspiration. You may just be the (fill-in-the-blank) of the future!
The career options you see before you are not written in stone. They are not “all there is.” New opportunities are opening up daily.
Keep your eyes open and trust. Keep actively seeking your personal happiness and remain chill. Your ideal career may be just over the horizon.
10 Ways to discover new career opportunities:
- Stay current on trends. Know what’s popular in fashion, art, design, cuisine, etc.
- Read. Then read some more.
- Try new things. Step out of your comfort zone.
- Let go of the fear of failure. You have to make mistakes to learn what you want in life. Nobody’s perfect!
- Release control. Let go of the sense of urgency. You’re going to find your ideal. You can and you will!
- Trust. In the flow of life, God, or whatever spiritual mindset works for you.
- Take action! Take a chance, take a risk, and live your life. Don’t know if something is right for you? Try it and find out!
- Have a positive growth mindset. A positive growth mindset is a combination of accepting learning curves, being kind to yourself as you learn, taking action, and believing in yourself.
- Think about quantum physics more. Quantum physics has proven that the act of observing particles affects what those particles do. This suggests that you can create your own reality by how you view things. Or that as your perceptions about the world start to change, the world around you changes as well.
- Journal for self-discovery.
Reason #2: Your career destiny is entrepreneurial in nature.
Consider that maybe your ideal career can’t be found because you have to invent it. Maybe you’re an entrepreneur at heart and haven’t fully realized it!
If you’re reading this and feel a thrill of recognition, then rejoice! It’s a relief when you finally understand you’re a natural-born boss. Not because it’s easy to be an entrepreneur, but because the possibilities are endless.
Endless possibilities are why I love being a blogger.
With blogging, I can write about interesting topics and be creative with writing. I can also promote my books, affiliate products, art prints etc.
If you want to start your own blog. I recommend Bluehost to get started. They are an affordable web hosting service where you can start a blog with a free domain name and WordPress.
Related: 5 Profitable Home Business Ideas Online With No Experience Needed
The importance of having fun for career success:
When searching for your ideal career or business, notice who’s doing what you’d like to be doing.
Who’s having the fun you want to have? The YouTuber filming her own funny skits? The real estate mogul showing gorgeous properties?
To be happy and successful, you must have fun much of the time working, otherwise, you may as well go work any old where.
Obviously, there are times when work is not fun. When things are stressful and hard. But overall, joy and interest in your work will keep your fire lit. That’s why you must figure out what you’re passionate about and naturally good at, no matter how long it takes. Figuring that out is a commitment in itself. Don’t give up on figuring that out for yourself. And don’t listen to people who think work can’t be fun.
How to find a career you love:
You have to take action to find what you enjoy doing and discover different life paths available.
If you think you don’t have the skills, the time, the confidence, or the energy, to explore your options, then try to shift your thinking. You can learn what makes you happy if you really want to know. Don’t be hard on yourself about it either- there is nothing wrong with not knowing what to do with your life. You are not broken.
As well, we live in a time of bountiful information, much of it free online. So if you don’t have certain skills then develop them. Take classes, talk to successful people, and fill your mind with knowledge. It might take time to develop the skills you need to find a career you love but that’s ok.
For many types of online classes, check out Skillshare. Skillshare is an amazing online learning platform with classes on everything from Amazon selling to Etsy and more, for around $8.25/mo. It’s a pretty sweet deal.
What about the money it costs to change careers?
What about the money you need to take classes? Or start a business? Or quit your job?
It depends on your situation. But where there is a will there is a way. It’s not easy, but the thing to do is keep looking for opportunities.
There are ways to save money and ways to make money.
We live in an awesome time period of low-cost-to-start business opportunities. Aka, low-barrier-to-entry opportunities such as websites, Etsy shops, and eBay stores. Find out tons of free info on Youtube for whatever interests you.
Additionally, you may find that as you start taking action, you’re surprised at how much is possible. You may have more free time than you think, especially if you don’t have kids.
Whatever you choose to do, go forth thoughtfully. Do research. Consider your investments of both time and money carefully. Use common sense while simultaneously following your heart.
Know this about finding a career you love:
You don’t have to be the very best at something to be successful. But you do have to do your best with integrity and a certain amount of joy.
Everybody has something they are good at. It’s up to you to discover what you enjoy and where you shine.
Are you introverted or extroverted? Do you like working with your hands? Your imagination? With other people? Alone? Indoors? Outdoors? These questions and more are things to know about yourself.
Sometimes you just have to keep searching. If you look for long enough and if your desire is strong enough you will find your ideal career. You will discover employment where you can be happy and thrive.
Related: 50 Journal Prompts to Find Your Purpose When You’re Feeling Lost in Your Career
Know this about being an entrepreneur:
The most important thing to realize about starting your own business is this: The entrepreneurial path is a commitment. It’s also a lifestyle, a mindset, and an honored path.
The number one thing that holds us back is the fear of failure. But every successful entrepreneur will tell you that failure is the root of success! It’s pretty rare to have immediate success with no failure, so please don’t get discouraged.
I truly believe that when you take a chance, even if you fail, you still win because you took that chance.
With every bold move you make, you develop authentic knowledge, confidence, and skills. Being an entrepreneur is awesome, hard, and everything in between.
A story for anyone who doesn’t know what to do in life:
It took me many years of dabbling with side hustles (creating art, jewelry, selling in shops, craft fairs, writing, selling on eBay,) along with so many different jobs, from waitressing to retail to nursing…it goes on and on…to find out what I wanted to do with my life career-wise.
I was working as a nurse in a doctor’s office (which sucked) when I had my first child. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with my first child until my second child was born. But then we needed more income and I had to make a choice about what to do career-wise.
I was contemplating going back to work as a nurse. But truthfully, I didn’t want to. I decided that to be happy I absolutely had to be creatively self-employed. It was then that I discovered blogging and long story short I was like YES! This is my thing!
Interestingly, when I decided to get serious and make a commitment to blogging, I discovered clues my chosen career path was the right fit:
- I like working alone and I’m an introvert. Group projects are my worst nightmare.
- I’ve always been a writer, mostly in a journal.
- As a freshman in college, I joined the student paper and my very first article made the front page! I was amazed, but then promptly quit so I didn’t have to chase stories around campus. (Social anxiety!)
- In college, I used to enjoy writing research papers and think If only someone would pay me to write these but I didn’t have to do any boring research. And now that’s exactly what I do blogging!!! Amazing! (And BTW, I do research for my articles, but it’s never boring!)
Finding clues about what to do with your life:
To discover your ideal career path, take inventory of your natural skill set. Look for clues and patterns. Experiment. Try new things. Don’t settle for boring, limited, or unfulfilling!
Keep chasing whatever interests you. At the same time, know that you have to work hard and take positive action in the direction of your dreams. You must take action to find your happiness. And importantly, know yourself.
Your ideal career exists at some point in time, you just need to get to that point in time. Give a shout-out to your future self and ask her for some words of advice.
You may have to do some inner work. Like forgiving yourself for past mistakes, or for feeling confused about what to do. Find your personal blocks and work on dissolving them.
Sometimes life gets in the way, too. Things happen that are out of our control. Or we make decisions, such as starting families and prioritizing those decisions first. Everyone has their own timeline and life path.
Realize that you have unique gifts to share with the world, but you may have to push yourself to discover those gifts. I always suggest brainstorming, journaling, and reading other people’s stories for guidance.
Finally, consider this statement made by successful entrepreneur Steve Chou of mywifequitherjob.com:
“Everyone knows enough about something to teach something to someone.”
Yes, Steve, exactly! You don’t need to be “the best” at something to have your ideal career. You don’t have to be an expert to help other people, which is what so many jobs are about; service. No matter what career you want, no matter your level of experience in that field, you can contribute your unique self in any job you do!
Be kind to yourself
If you’re having trouble finding a career path and you’re feeling stressed, take a breather. Give yourself grace.
It’s Ok if you haven’t yet “discovered your passion.” We are living on the brink of so much new technology! Unthinkable new opportunities open up daily.
We are living in a time period of amazing opportunity. Think of the fact that there was no Uber, Instagram, Etsy, Shopify, etc. 20 years ago. What’s going to exist in 2-20 years? You don’t have a clue and neither do I, so let’s keep our eyes wide open.
If you want to find your ideal career path, then make the commitment.
- Get creative.
- Brainstorm.
- Research.
- Educate yourself.
- Observe society.
- Keep your eyes open.
- Positive growth mindset.
- Try new things & take a chance.
- Be brave.
Final thought: You’re as successful as you tell yourself you are
If you mess up, instead of being down on yourself, you can claim success via the experience. Because if you can feel good about your own integrity in trying to live your best life, you are successful.
If you believe in yourself, you win. Even if you feel you haven’t reached your full potential, you can still claim your success and give yourself grace. No one can tell you how to feel about where you’re at in life.
Bottom line: If you’re a dabbler, having trouble finding a career path, or don’t know what to do with your life, never feel bad about it. You’re not flakey, a flop, a loser, or any of that.
What you are is creative and smart. You are a spiritual being having a human experience, and the “not knowing” is part of that. The “not knowing” has value because it is going to lead you somewhere incredible.
You’re also not one to settle. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be searching for what fulfills you. You’re discovering life and experimenting with possibility. Be proud of yourself for where you are now!
You may also like:
50 Journal Prompts to Find Your Purpose When You’re Feeling Lost in Your Career.
Finding Yourself- Quotes to Inspire You to Live Authentically.
How to Write Your First Blog Post in 9 Steps- Including a Snack Break!
Start a Business as a Stay-at-Home Mom: Time Management Tips.
How to Start a Blog For Beginners Using WordPress and Bluehost.