Anxiety

Self Help My Bum -or- Maybe I'm More Screwed Up Than I Thought

Steve went to a presentation on Friday about balancing work and life. The speaker discussed how we all trade in our life energy for money, and it's up to us to figure out how much our life energy is worth or how much we're willing to give up or something like that. Anyway, he brought me back a packet that is supposed to assist you in figuring out what to do with your life. The main question in finding your passions is, "What did you like to do most in kindergarten?" Then you're supposed to use this answer to figure out what you life's work should be...

So here's my list. In kindergarten I liked...

1. Getting good grades or always having a green card in my pocket instead of a red one.

I guess this poses a compelling argument for grad school, but it's not really a life-guiding passion. But what I remember making me the most happy or unhappy was getting the metaphorical gold star.


2. Spinning as fast as I could on the tire swing.

Hmm... maybe I have a future in Cirque du Soleil, but I kind of doubt it. Or maybe I could have a satisfying career as a wheel.


3. Playing with boys on the playground.

I'm not even going anywhere with this one...


4. Lording things over Becca that I could do that she couldn't.

Although this is one of my favorite hobbies, I'm not sure I could make a career out of it.


5. Trying to find pretty rocks in the playground dirt.

Perhaps I have a promising career as a miner.


I do get the point of this exercise. I'm sure that some kids who love to color become artists and maybe some kids who build block bridges become engineers; but just because I liked playing with the hose in the backyard doesn't mean I was meant to be a firefighter. I wish my ideal career path was that obvious, but I don't think it's that easy for most people.

Right now I'm caught up in the "I want to help people" trap (as opposed to all the people out there who would rather have a job where they did physical and emotional harm to others). Besides crossing viking and professional torturer off of my list, I'm pretty much back at square one. I know it's a process and it takes time, but I'm impatient. So thanks a lot self-help lady for getting my hopes up.

posted by Rachel at 11:11 PM