How to know when your career isn’t a fit for you…and when it is
I’ve always been a film nerd.
From foreign and indie films to Hollywood classics, I LOVE getting sucked into their stories while analyzing the symbolism of camera angles and randomly placed props.
In fact, as soon as I graduated from college in Boston, I moved to LA.
Why?
To see what working in the film industry would be like!
Once there and settled into my new job, two things became apparent:
I loved the weather!
I felt like a misfit.
And this second one hurt.
As much as I tried, I wasn’t really connecting to people on a deep level.
Most of my conversations felt forced and uninteresting and after a while,
I started to believe that there was something wrong with ME.
Had I lost my touch at making friends?
Did I leave my social skills back on the East Coast?
Why was I not making relationships that felt fulfilling and genuine?
It was a lonely time that only created more and more sadness in me, the longer I was there.
Then several months in, I was invited to a party in The Valley.
Someone I knew had a friend who was throwing it and I tagged along, not knowing that it would end up being a HUGE lesson for me.
Stepping into the home, I was immediately taken aback by something surprising.
All the people there were metalheads.
They were laid back, dressed mostly in black, and they were MY kind of weird - not at ALL a part of the LA scene that I had become used to seeing.
But what surprised me even MORE was that I was having FUN.
I was meeting people quickly, laughing easily and the conversations flowed without effort.
At one point, I realized something big.
I hadn’t lost my people skills, after all. I had just been meeting the wrong people.
Can you imagine the relief in having this awareness?
It was a lesson I never forgot, especially when I would later experience the same thing at different jobs I held.
I just wasn’t with “my people.”
I’m sharing this with you, because this is what it’s like when you’re in a career that isn’t a fit.
It might look like...
// You’re “fine” at your job, but you’re not a genius at it the way that *other* person in your department is
// You can make small talk with your colleagues, but don’t feel like you see things the same way, or like you have much in common with them
// You get your work done, but have to dig deep to get excited about your project which makes your work REALLY feel like “work”
However, the opposite IS possible.
Doing work you love and which is in your zone of genius is like going to that party in The Valley.
It can look like…
// Feeling connected to your colleagues and energized by what you’re doing
// Naturally feeling excited and passionate about your projects
// Feeling creative and having great ideas flow to you easily and quickly
// Knowing that the work you're doing is some of the best you’ve EVER done...and feeling proud, accomplished and gratified by it
// Others going out of their way to tell you what a great job you’ve done, as you see the gratitude on their faces
// Making a positive difference in someone’s life - whether it’s on a personal level or on closing a sale they’ve been trying so hard to get
So let me ask you...
Are you still trying to fit into the LA scene? Or have you found your party in The Valley?
Your party is out there.
Your people are out there.
Your right career is out there.
The first step to finding them is recognizing that you’re in the wrong place.
You’ve got this, and I’ve got YOU…
Denise