On things worth doing
Early Spring musings of a hopeless daydreamer.
Happy April, lovely people of planet Earth!
May the lovely weather bring you a hefty dose of vitamin D & high-quality socializing that warms up the soul - and, hopefully, also some of that “this feels good and also might benefit my career!” work socializing. :)
As soon as the temperatures go up and the first bees appear on the first flowers on the nearby trees, I get into that sweet daydreaming state that goes so well with lemonade, old books, and flowy fabrics.
And today, I was thinking about how things worth doing might not look like much when you start them.
In fact, quite the contrary: something that turns out to carry a super-duper-wow-areyoukiddingme-level of importance to you in a year might look just like a single step today.
Mundane. Insignificant.
You go on a single date with someone on a Sunday because they’re kinda cute and in a band and then next Sunday realize that you went out with the same guy five times in just a week. (Nine years later, he’s helping you write about CV-related stuff on Substack. :) )
You volunteer to help with the organization of one green-themed event in your hometown and a month later, you have a network of people - speakers, attendees, organizers - who want to stay in touch and help you make your first proper career steps in sustainability, shall you choose to pursue it. Some might even tell you to give them a call once you’re in “not just a volunteer in the field” mode because they want to hire you!
You take up journaling thinking it would help you relax and a few days later you decide to switch industries. 12 weeks later, you’re already wrapping up client work, have a new diet and movement routine, and are genuinely happier than 84 days ago (84 days =12 weeks x 7 days, in case you were wondering).
My point?
In many situations in life, you can’t tell whether something will be good or bad head-on.
You can tell if milk has gone sour by unscrewing the cap and sniffing the insides of the carton.
But you can’t sniff your business right when you start it to determine whether it will be a legacy you pass on to your kids/ beloved colleagues/ curious cousins, or it will be a flop. Or whether you’ll change your mind and close your business to work for a non-profit that helps whales. Or sell handmade clothes on Etsy.
You can’t sniff whether the college you graduate from will turn out to be related to the industry you’ll spend years in. Maybe its sole value will be that it taught you how to fact-check (which is an increasingly important skill). Or to perform a Heimlich maneuver. Or that you got a few scholarships to travel the world. Or that you met your best friends because they were your college classmates. Or maybe it was a giant waste of money that came with a lesson in ‘maybe I should appreciate my intuition more and recognize the next time I’m about to make a big investment in something that doesn’t work for me’.
Sometimes, you learn how things will turn out by doing them and seeing how your relationship with them changes as you yourself change through time.
I remember this quote (no clue who said it) that the top 10 jobs of the near future haven’t been invented yet.
We can’t prepare for what we don’t know will take place in our world.
Years ago, “a calculator” was a profession of someone who had to be good at math. Today, it’s an app on your phone that your late 19th-early 20th-century ancestors could only dream about (if even that - how would you explain a smartphone!?) and that anyone can use regardless of their math proficiency.
So no, we can’t prepare for some things.
We can practice adaptability, though.
And letting go of expectations.
Treating every little thing with gratitude because, in time, it just might be the thing you’ll be grateful you did - or didn’t do. But, again, don’t expect everything to work out (that’s a ticket to Resentmentville).
No pressure. Just gratitude.
I’m wishing you the best of months and am off to have one myself - preferably out in the sun 90% of the time.
Off to figure out a way to do that AND build the foundations for a new career at the same time,
Andjela
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Welcome to the Career Pivot Diaries where I chronicle my journey from sustainability communications to QA testing! This is where we’ll cover all things career change, such as going from entrepreneurship to 9-to-5, exploring new professional identities, and *finally* updating that dusty CV. Most importantly, we’ll explore how to see ourselves as more than our work and find a sense of safety in choosing a new path while allowing room for creative play.
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