Imagine that you have no other place to be for an entire day and you find yourself in the most fantastic of all bookstores. Books and magazines artfully displayed on any topic imaginable, along with cozy chairs and a well-stocked café, are at your disposal. Take a moment and give in to this fantasy, then step back and notice where you go and what you do.
Are you wandering from aisle to aisle to see what catches your eye, or do you immediately seek out that one particular section that gets your heart pumping at the thought of it? Is it understood that you'd be lured in by biographies, or another topic such as home repair, health, art history, gardening, sports trivia or mysteries? Perhaps your passion for cooking has you hovering over the latest tips on grilling or studying the array of food lovers' guides to Paris.
Take a moment to picture yourself in the midst of such resources with no one dictating what or where you have to be. Where do you naturally gravitate and what holds your attention?
…Now consider your life beyond the bookstore and the topics of interest you sought out during your day there. In any given week, how often do you make time for these interests? Is that amount of time adequate? If not, how much more time would you like? Is there a particular interest you would like to pursue, but have not made the time?
It's common for me to ask my clients about their life and pursuits outside of work. While some people do turn hobbies into moneymaking endeavors, they are not the norm. And typically, I am not fishing for a new career direction from their list of leisure time activities.
Rather, my question has more to do with whether or not they are involved in activities that truly engage them. When a person's life lacks meaning, they might think that a new job or a career transition will fill the void that may have more to do with life outside of work. In that case, they may have named the wrong culprit and that could confuse and delay the career planning process.
The antidote: Live a full life that includes activities in which you can wholeheartedly engage. Hopefully, your work will present many of those opportunities. But, after all, unless your work IS the fantasy bookstore, it will always have its limitations that must be addressed by other pursuits.
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