Quote:
Originally Posted by Alarin  The second, more drastic measure, would be to take a few months off work and just do nothing for a while. Creativity generally requires rest to function so if your passion - which may be yet to reveal itself to you - is creative, rest will really help. Take it easy and notice what you naturally gravitate towards each day and that should give you a good idea of what you're naturally passionate about. |
I'm currently doing this right now (I'm 25). When I got out of college, I worked for a year and a half as a software developer, and generally didn't like it at all. So I just up and quit with no plan, and sold the shiny new car I bought. My advice is to take up a hobby, and see where it goes. Last year, I started taking salsa lessons, and after a year I became pretty good at it. Now, it's playing Irish music. I'm getting into it pretty heavily now and I am finding it is something I really enjoy.
If you're like me, you might be one of those people that learn quickly, and are pretty good at whatever they try. I was just working under the assumption that I had to major in something tough, I had to get the high-paying development job, but quickly found out that its not what you can do, its what you want to do and what you truly enjoy doing. Just because you are capable of doing some complicated stessful job for high pay, doesn't mean you have to. I used to feel that I would be wasting my potential so to speak if I did something else, but now I know that life is too short, and that is a crock of bull.
So what do I want to do? Some options I'm debating:
1) freelance web design, or graphic design. I know I have an eye for design, but do I love it enough? I also thought about photography as well.
2) Something with music. Maybe teach guitar lessons.
3) Travel. I've always loved traveling.
But as each day goes by, I'm pretty sure my passion is music. I grew up with music, and it was always really important in my family and throughout my life. How I can monetize this, I don't know, but I'm working on it.
So try a bunch of stuff, and see what you like. And don't worry that you are 35, it is never too late to try something new.
Oh, and in regards to the career coach, I'm finding that you are your own best career coach. Of course you want someone to give you the answer, but you need to spend some time listening to yourself, and I think you'll eventually get the answer.