Coffee Talk Tuesday #5
Happy Coffee Talk Tuesday! Welcome to the weekly chat where I spill my guts and try not to spill my coffee. That would be very sad.
If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that we just returned from a 4th of July weekend trip to Mount Desert Island, Maine! What good fun. We loved camping near the Sound, hiking all the trails and mountains, checking out Bar Harbor, and visiting Acadia National Park.
If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that campfire coffee is my favorite. The scenes, the sounds, the smells, it’s just perfection.
If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that as I write my ‘accomplishments’ and ‘goals’ for my annual performance review, I’m thinking A LOT about the future. As you know, I’m a huge fan of goals. Heck, my husband proposed to me using a nerdy SMART goals form I gave to him to complete for fun.
Entertain me for a moment, coffee buddy — are you in the career you want to pursue? Like, if you were doing this job, or in this field for-ev-er, would you be pleased as pie? (oooo, pie…)
I’m sure I’m not supposed to say this, but I am not (edited to add: this is not related to my fitness instructor job/life!!!). I’ve known for a little while, but haven’t said it out loud or written about it until now (mostly). Do you ever feel stuck?
Before the RED FLAGS start jumping, let me say that working with students ROCKS, especially when you’re helping make their dreams come true. I love that I’ve carved a niche in my office based around tasks I do enjoy. But I get questions all the time about moving up even more, to the top, and I have little to no intention of moving up on purpose.
I will say that I enjoy supervising people — I love figuring out what motivates them, how to help them, encourage them, help them set GOALS (heh), but I don’t think I’d enjoy my job if it only involved managing others. And that’s typically what happens in my line of work when you get promoted allll the way up. You manage other people’s tasks.
I like tasks. I like to do lists, I like getting my hands ‘dirty’ and doing odd jobs. So I’ve stayed at my mid-management level for 4 years. But now, as I write my goals and think about accomplishments, I’m hungry for more. I have tons of talents (it’s totes ok to toot your own horn, peeps) and I’ve been using a lot of my creative energy outside my 9-5 job.
When you get to that point, maybe it’s time to make a major move. But that’s scary, right? Consistency and comfort generally trump all, and especially when you have set bills (and student loans woof), it’s hard to justify leaving a pretty good salary and a very solid job for a job that you love but won’t necessarily pay all the bills.
I read stories all the time about people who left their 9-5s for a different, scary-but-so-in-love-with-it new career, but I’m open to hearing your story, too — just because I like perspectives. So, if you want to chat (virtually or over a real, live cup of coffee), I’d love to hear your story.
Like I tell my clients, the first thing you need to do in order to make a change is to say it out loud or write it down. Well, universe, here you go.
<3 The one thing I'd say if we were sharing some java would be that I know you'll be successful on whatever road you travel. And the beauty of success is that it can be measured in many different ways. I decided awhile ago that I will not pursue a PhD (something I thought would happen for quite some time) and have been working on carving out a lot of satisfaction in my personal life to balance any boredom/frustration I find professionally. Not having a doctorate limits me in my career, but I do find ways to introduce new challenges and opportunities while respecting the boundaries of my position/education. That being said, I feel like you've got such a wide range of skills and experiences, that you could head in so many different career fields and do very well. I really look forward to seeing where this amazing life takes you!
After burning my tongue from my café mocha that is too hot, I would tell you that I saw a documentary last weekend about setting goals (I can’t remember the title though). The host loved setting goals and every hour of her day was scheduled, even the time where she was supposed to relax. She traveled to South-Korea and spoke with different people. Anyway, the point that stuck with me was that nowadays we are so busy that we forget what is important to us. If you would make a timeline from your life, you can fill in certain milestones: learning how to bike, getting your driving license, getting married etc. In this timeline, you would also mark your future till your death. However, you cannot plan your ‘death.’ And so the question was: If you would die right now, what are your biggest regrets? What would you have done differently?
It was absolutely not the fun and light material I was looking for on my Sunday night, but it did make a solid point that made me wonder. Am I happy where I am right now? Should I do more? Am I not trying hard enough?
The second part of this documentary was about this thing called ‘wandering.’ A man told the hostess that he booked a flight with no further plans. He met the love of his life and started a bakery. I guess the conclusion of this part was that you should do some wandering now and then. Give yourself some time to reevaluate what you really want. And sometimes you are wrong with what you think is the most important to you, but you will find out and will learn from that.
I have absolutely no idea what I want to do in the future. I guess we’ll see.
(I absolutely love this quote and I thought it would fit right here)
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where –”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
I love this post and would love to get some in real life coffee with you and talk about this! Can we make that happen? Miss you!
YES PLEASE! !!!!!!!!!!!!