Our pre-set career path has come to an end. Now what?
How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You) - Tim Urban
This week’s post is inspired by How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You) by Tim Urban. Follow him on Twitter!
Tim makes it clear when he writes that he isn’t trying to give career advice, but a framework that can help you make career decisions that actually reflect who you are and what you want.
“You’re not a pro, but you’re certainly more qualified to figure out what’s best for you than our collective un-self-aware great uncle named Society.”
Our life paths so far are analogous to tadpoles getting thrown in a river
We just woke up out of nowhere and found ourselves on some path set for us by our parents, by society, and by circumstances. We’re told the rules of the river and the way we should swim and what our goals should be. Our job isn’t to think about our path—it’s to succeed on the path we’ve been placed on, based on the way success has been defined for us.
And now many of us are at a stage where we feel the world is telling us to go make something of our lives. . . with the problem being we’re skill-less and knowledge-less.
Our pre-set path has come to an end. Now what?
When scientists study people on their deathbed, they usually find that many of them feel some serious regrets. Most of us aren’t really taught about path-making in our childhoods, and most of us also don’t get much better at path-making as adults.
This leaves many people looking back on a life path that didn’t really make sense, given who they are and the world they lived in.
Look at all that green up there. . .
Intentionality about the choices you make and the paths you choose is important. ⤵️
It affects every piece of the pie
Intention = Risking doing 100,000+ hours of something we don’t enjoy and don’t feel called to do.
Quality of life = For those of us not already wealthy through past earnings, marriage, or inheritance, a career doubles as our means of support.
Impact = Your career triples as your primary mode of impact-making. Every human life touches thousands of other lives in thousands of different ways, and all of those lives you alter then go on to touch thousands of lives of their own.
If this got you thinking or you’re wondering what this octopus is, check out this worksheet! It involves:
Evaluating your career path so far
Evaluating your wants, needs, non-negotiables
Figuring out what really drives you
Ranking your yearnings and fears
Evaluating your potential
Evaluating your reality
Connecting the dots