Many people blame their education for their status in life. They wish they had spent more time paying attention in algebra, studied more in physics, played a sport, kept up with the trumpet, put their drawing in the school show instead of feeling embarrassed. Some wish they had pursued their love of writing, others teaching and some their passion for photography. Or maybe they finished school and successfully went on and earned a degree in marketing, but found out it was not for them, or entered law as their parents advised, but after a year of working in the profession, longed to teach. Some missed out altogether and know that if they had only had more classes or education, their life would be better. But whatever one’s situation, it’s good to remember that schooling is just school and from there we go on to careers. Sometimes the careers fit, and sometimes they don’t. But a career, even if it doesn’t meet our passion, can meet our life needs of raising a family, paying the bills, and providing for our life. There should be joy in that, which in turn can breathe new life into a career, family, and life in general.
It’s not uncommon for people to feel that parts of their life have been missed. The real tragedy is that we abandon our dreams based on excuses, rather than taking control of our lives and chasing new interests and dreams, even if they come to a dead-end. We think that if we draw, we must be a da Vinci, or that to really learn the guitar, we should play like Ron Wood (sure, Keith Richards has more character and plays the riffs, but Ronnie is the better guitarist). In reality, the object of learning a new subject or skill comes in the learning itself. The outcome may have little relevance, though great importance.
You may have studied science and become a manager for a medical device company, but still have a longing to take photography. Why not sign up for an online course? At worst, you will learn new skills! However, the learning process will impact and change how you live your life in all aspects. As you learn a new skill, you may bring that skill into your medical device job, which impacts how you see the world.
One of my coaching clients, Adam, owned his business, but was bored looking at Excel spreadsheets day after day. He told me, “Excel is a nice tool, but those spreadsheets were as dull as watching snow melt and I’m dying inside.” He would look at how to implement a new ERP system for the company, and work with the finance manager and IT manager to get everything implemented correctly. He knew that part of the job was okay. However, he also had a real desire to paint. Not like Picasso or Cézanne, but like early Matisse. So on the weekends, he signed up for a painting class. “I was really terrible at the beginning,” he said, “but just the mixing of paints was a real joy. Eventually, paintings emerged. Even my wife could tell what I had painted. What was really exceptional, though, was that I could see new ways to mix people at work like paints on a pallet. The creativity carried over into my work.”
Another client, Mia, the head of Human Resources at a European company, had a dream to escape the corporate world and sell real estate. Though she felt it would take time, she started studying for her license. The following week after passing the exam for her realtor license, she got news at work that the office would be closing down. She wasn’t worried, though, as this gave her a chance to start a new career. Now Mia is playing Monopoly for real.
Working in executive recruitment for over twenty years, I’ve seen many people who went through school, then jumped into a career. They felt a bit stuck, but didn’t mind their job that much: it just wasn’t their dream or passion. It lacked all the “umph” that Hollywood and all self-help books said you should have. The reality, in many of these cases, is that the person should concentrate on that career, then build a place in life to unplug—be it a hobby, a class, or simply some time alone. Just because we have fast-moving lives with Twitter and instant messaging and same day delivery, doesn’t mean we have to create careers that way. And education as well. Just because school stopped and graduation happened, doesn’t mean learning and education ends.
It’s easy to think that our education was to blame or that we are stuck in a job. Accept your schooling. Work well in your career. And from time to time at lunch, slip your shoes off, dream, explore your desires, and take a small action into your dreams. Synchronicity follows and puts you on the path you need to go.