Hi Duckyboots
11 years ago I left the my job working as a hospital administrative dietitian because I could not fit into the mold of job descriptions, policy and proceedures.
I decided I was going to reinvent myself. I spent a few years drumming up all kinds of business plans that never got off the ground and I would take on different kinds of work to explore other avenues.
I went through career counselling assessments which summarized things I already knew about myself and gave me no specific answers or clear direction to follow. I've been through 15 years of psychoanalysis sometimes going 2 times per week. My psychiatrist would often fall asleep in the middle of my session. He basically offered me a safe place where I could freely talk through my issues with myself.
I found trying to figure out what I wanted to do was like trying to find an 'earing in the haystack'.
What did help was understanding what I did not like to do. I began to carve away all the things I did not enjoy doing and as I did that, I started to understanding better what kind of things did interest me. I am still working on this.
The tools that I have found helpful are:
The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron
Journalling my feelings every day
Letting go of thinking I have to do something spectacular to show my worth. This last one was probably my biggest discovery. When I finally realized I need not do anything impressive to prove my worth, I started to really see what kinds of work I find fulfilling.
Finding work that makes me happy has been a major theme in my life. If you ever want to chat about this over a cup of Starbucks, I would be more than happy to.
Luv Bonnie