"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself"
(Abraham Maslow, 1954)

You have dealt with your divorce, got through the death of a loved one and recently overcome your financial difficulties.  But still, an inability to find happiness persists.  You ask yourself "Why do I feel so miserable when my life is seemingly so on track?"

Perhaps you are in the wrong job.

Kereeditse, a 33 year old Personal Assistant from the West Rand has been asking herself a similar question.  For eight years she has experienced high levels of discontent and suffered a variety of physical symptoms accompanying her unhappiness - chronic fatigue, loss of concentration and regular headaches.  "I woke up one day recently and realised how much I hated my job.  I was never sure what I wanted to do, but my cousin became a Personal Assistant and I thought that would be a good option for me too" says Kereeditse.

Doing the wrong type of work for a sustained amount of time can lead to a deterioration in the quality of your life.  Career related research makes a link between career choice, job satisfaction and mental health (Herr and Cramer, 1996).

Another client, Christa, confessed that until she discovered what she wanted to do and followed her heart, she was not aware of just how much her depression and anxiety was related to the work she was doing.  Our souls or essential selves need to find expression and until you can acknowledge this and move towards becoming more of who you really are, your feelings of discontent will persist.

On the flip side, finding the right kind of work (or correct person-job fit) creates job satisfaction and enhances emotional and physical well-being.  Individuals with a vocation often display an extraordinary vitality and energy.  They are startlingly and awesomely alive!  Think of people you know
who are like this.  For sure, they enjoy the work they do.  Can you remember the last time you felt really alive and full of energy?  If not, you have work to do.

Taking Responsibility For Your Career

Managing your career choices and taking ownership of the shape your career takes is your responsibility.  This should be a regular and ongoing process.  You need to rely on self-insight, self-exploration and determination in your search for fulfillment.  Explore your own interests, talents and values and the meanings of the experiences embedded in your life and career history.

Your Interests, Abilities and Values

Looking at your interests, values or abilities in isolation may not give you the right answer regarding an appropriate career path.  You need to try to make a whole from all the parts -explore, a whole that comes from your natural abilities, interests, your environment, your life and work experiences (in other words, everything that makes you who you are).  But to start, lets explore the concepts of interests, abilities and values independently.

Interests refer to the positive feelings or preferences you have for an activity, idea or object.  Interests are things you like, pay spontaneous attention to, observe, think about or do with satisfaction.  Examples of interests include: gardening, photography, mathematics, public speaking, reading, working with people, economics, leading others, solving problems and working with mechanical tools.

Try to identify the activities you enjoy, or when doing them, you lose a sense of time.  Ask yourself, "What activities or tasks motivate me, give me energy and bring me joy?" What am I doing when I lose a sense of time?" What type of information do I remember most easily?"

Also ask yourself what it is about a particular thing, person, activity or object that you like.  What is it that you are learning by repeating the tasks that you enjoy?  These
questions are more difficult to answer.  For example, perhaps you have an interest in birds.  Having an interest in birds does not necessarily indicate that you should become an ornithologist.

This would depend on why you are interested in birds - is your interest genuinely related to birds (their characteristics, migratory patterns, etc) or is it because when you see them you are outdoors or that you love the variety of colours they have or that you love to identify and categorise things.

Identifying why you have a particular interest in something or what fascinates you about something is the key.  By identifying why you have an interest in something you may be able to see a similar pattern of interest in two or more related activities that you enjoy.

Abilities refer to your skills, talents and developed capabilities.  They reflect what you can do or could do with proper training.  For example, you may have good communication skills, good interpersonal skills, an empathy and understanding of others, mathematical aptitude, creative writing ability or scientific ability.  Ask yourself, "What am I good at in my life in general and at work?"  Collect any evidence you may have that confirms the skills you have identified.  You will find this evidence in your accomplishments at school (refer to your school reports; awards received), at work (recognition received) and through your hobbies.

We all have a unique set of values and understanding what these values are can provide insight into our career choices, aspirations and personal preferences.  Values are rooted in and grow from a deep sense of what we truly believe in. For example, you may value career advancement, personal development, being able to work independently, being physically active at work, your cultural identity and spirituality.  In identifying your personal values, ask yourself, "What are the fundamental values that represent who I am?" and "For what would I like to be admired?"  Try to rank your listed values in order of their importance to you.

Storytelling And Your Life Career History

Behind what we become are not just abilities, interests and values, but a life history (a story) and a growing sense of meaning and what is required to be meaningful. 

Try the following activity.  Write your own life career history from your early childhood to the present time.  Your story should be in the region of 4 to 5 pages in length and can be written over a couple of evenings.

While writing your story, ask yourself "What meaning do I get in writing my own story?" and "What am I becoming?" Include in your life story information related to the following:

•  Your family origin, your parents, your neighbourhood.
  
  
•  Your family's social class, culture, economic status.
  
  
•  Your interests and
  hobbies as a child (write about what you loved to do - and think about why).
  
  
•  A person, hero or job you were fascinated with as a child (and think about why).
  
  
•  What you imagined yourself becoming when you were a child
  
  
•  School subjects you enjoyed and those you did not enjoy (and why)
  
  
•  Specific problems or challenges you may have faced during these years.  Write about the context (the environment) within which these challenges presented themselves.

Adulthood (From Leaving School to Present Day)

•  Tertiary education.  Write about what you studied and why and what interested you.
  
  
•  Your work experience up to today.  Write about the jobs you have had, what you enjoyed, what you did not like.
  
  
•  Skills, knowledge and abilities you now possess.
  
  
•  Specific problems or challenges you have faced during adulthood.  Write about the context (the environment) within which these challenges presented
  themselves.
  
  
•  Listen to your intuition and write on what your "instinct" is telling you about what you would love to be doing career wise.
  
  
•  Looking to the future, write about your ideal job or work environment.  Describe what you would ideally like to be doing.

In analysing your story look for patterns or repeated experiences and emerging themes that may help to give you an indication of who you are.  Can you cluster your interests, abilities and experiences into similar related groups?  What type of careers do these clusters point to?

Gaining increased self-insight takes time.  Don't rush this process and don't expect immediate answers.  When you are ready, your next step will be to explore different career options related to your interests, abilities, values and life career history.  Then, draw up very specific goals and actions that you need to take for an improved quality of life.

Each day do at least one small thing to move
yourself towards your goal.  Focus on what you want and believe strongly that you have the ability to create new opportunities for yourself.  The work you were born to do and the power to create it, through the attention you give it, lie within.

by Heather Jones

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