Redefining My Career Path
I have recently realized that I romanticize “the complete story.” “What is the complete story,” you might ask. To me, a story is complete only when it has a happy ending. A happy ending makes the story worth telling. It makes the story complete. By that logic, if a story lacks what I perceive as a happy ending, it is not worth telling!
Over the past three weeks, I have questioned my perception of stories worth telling. Why? I am facing the big, bad change monster. As someone who has not yet mastered “change acceptance” despite life’s dynamic nature, any variation from the norm scares me. If I am honest, it paralyzes me. I find myself incapable of thinking straight and taking proactive action. “The consequence (s),” you ask? STAGNATION!
It has been 7+ years since I started my writing career. At its inception, necessity curved the path I took. I was fresh out of campus with an undisputable need for an income. I needed to earn a living, and freelance writing came easy to me. Even better, it allowed me to work from home and fattened my accounts. So, I started my journey. Exploring my talent. Honing my skills. Learning new writing styles. Compiling reports. Completing tasks and sharing knowledge. Rinse and repeat!
I have found myself stuck in a repetitive cycle of work patterns. The same old jobs. No new challenges. Tasks that I can complete in my sleep. Pay that was initially enough, but can no longer sustain my needs thanks to inflation and increasing personal responsibilities.
By that logic, if I am to continue exploring my writing passion, I must change my job sourcing criteria. I must seek opportunities that challenge my existing knowledge — tasks, and jobs that prompt learning and growth. I must find clients and employers who offer better compensation packages — pay that aligns with my expertise and satisfactorily keeps the lights on!
So, you see, I find myself at a point where I must redefine my career path. I must face the big, bad change monster to alleviate my career STAGNATION! My fears of failure and inadequacy are keeping me up at night. It is a do-or-die situation! I am between the rock that is the boring and repetitive work patterns; and the hard place of change acceptance, initiation, and completion.
This is the story of how I found myself on LinkedIn, creating and optimizing a profile, on the hunt for new opportunities. It is my attempt at facing the change I need to redefine my career path.
As you can tell, there is no happy ending. At least not yet! But I have decided to tell this story because I realize there is value in the process and beauty in a story in its incompleteness.
In Sam Fischer’s words, “I’m gonna be alright!” You will be too!
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