A Career Is...

I never viewed myself as career-driven, though I did want to travel and write. I pictured myself living in different places, writing about different cultures. At the same time, I did hope to marry and have children. Teaching was never a driving career aspiration - though it was, in fact, a useful skill with which I have earned my living most of my working life.

Sometimes I meet people who are still trying to figure out what they really want to do. They may have jobs but can't picture themselves in them for the rest of their lives. Some are not sure they are on the right career path... Here are a few ideas I've discovered about what a career is... and isn't.

1. A career is not a destination - it's a journey: If we keep aiming at doing things we enjoy, we will be on the right path to finding work that makes us happy.
2. Work has to suit what we value in life. I never viewed teaching as my top career choice, but I do value education. I visualized myself "educating" by writing about cultural experiences in different places, broadening readers' horizons. In the end I spent most of my working life "educating" in the classroom.
3. A job is something we do to earn a living - something that allows us to do the things that we enjoy. (In my case, raise a family, build a home and take interesting vacations.) For years I struggled with a sense of disappointment that I had never achieved my "dream" career. Then I read about a dancer who realized he wasn't good enough to earn his living full time by dancing. But rather than give up his passion, he got a job that allowed him to take time off to perform whenever opportunities presented themselves. His story helped me realize that I was, in fact, doing what I wanted to do: I was earning enough to raise a family and have some travel adventures, too. Eventually I began writing again, as well.
4.  Sometimes we have to step back and try something new. Terry worked in social services most of his life. There were several times in his career that he wanted to leave his emotionally-draining job. Once he found a different job in the same agency. Another time, he went back to school part-time to focus on learning new things. Taking his mind off work helped him go back refreshed. I took a journalistic writing course part-time while teaching. This helped me b a better writing teacher - and brought untold satisfaction when I saw articles I had written published. Sometimes we simply need a change!
   
5. Even if we are not at our "dream job," the day-in-and-day-out responsibilities of working develop character. Nothing is wasted! Everything we do has an impact on who we become - and skills we develop. I remember hearing an advertising executive say that his early job in a supermarket, carefully arranging fruit displays taught him the importance of first impressions: it has to look good for us to want it. Work also develops character, something that can never be purchased, learned... or overestimated! Character develops every day of our lives and is the most important thing we have to offer as employers, employees, family members, and friends. Personality helps us interact with others. But our character is the BASIS of who we are and everything we do!