Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

letting life choose you

AMHAMH
edited July 2011 in General Banter
I have a short time, but I really have this thought in myhead that has been part of my operating instructions for about a decade.

In US schools there has beena huge encouragement to find what you like to do, see if you have some aptitude, locate a good training school and then plow ahead with your life goal. Sounds good, but some years ago it started to feel like more 'violence' than I wanted. In other words I was pushing all these things into place and nowhere in the process was a time to reflect at what the world and other people were giving me back as feedback and cooperation. If you try something, push your bullheaded way into it, and still don't get it then that is a failure of some sort as well.

So then I decided to get out of my own way and listen! not just what did I want to do with career and life but what was I doing that i had good response from, that was encouraged and noticed by others, that I was really effective with and could see clearly how to do things or what was the next step. In some ways what did I find so simple that it wasn't a skill in my mind however not everyone could do it. I let my life choose me. It had been trying to choose me for some time, I just needed to stop trying to push and shove my way into what I thought I wanted.

Since meditation is more listening than talking I though that this may resonate with some other Buddhist types.

Comments

  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    I'm all for that approach, AH. I think what you discovered is what, ideally, falls under Step #1: finding what you have an aptitude for. This can take time, though, to try different things, see what resonates with you inside, see how others react to your skills, you contribution, your perspective. Maybe these days there is so much pressure to get into a profession or trade, due to the poor economy and high unemployment, that people like yourself feel pressured and rushed in that discovery process. But congratulations! You found your calling! :clap:
  • AMHAMH
    Yeah, in my case i was starting a divorce and I had a plan to get a degree in technical writing to add to my years of writing on my own. My lawyer could not support that so I ended up with a masters in education which I had been working in somewhat for years as a sub. I am now supervising before and after school care which is very good, I still wish I had been able to do the writing degree. Honestly I think that would have paid more since teachers are being laid off everywhere. I got the divorce because I could not make any decisions for myself or my kids without a lot of consequnces (not good) and then the legal system tied my hands again, but I like what I do a lot.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    That's great that you like what you do. Supervising before and after school care hopefully has more job security than some of the teaching positions. As you may know, Special Education and English as a Second Language have TOTAL job security--those teachers never get laid off! So if you have a chance to get qualified for either of those, you might try it.

    A writing degree? What would you have done with that, that would've given you job security? That's kind of a tough one to market, isn't it? Unless you get it in Journalism.
  • AmeliaAmelia Veteran
    ...find what you like to do, see if you have some aptitude, locate a good training school and then plow ahead with your life goal. Sounds good, but some years ago it started to feel like more 'violence' than I wanted. In other words I was pushing all these things into place and nowhere in the process was a time to reflect at what the world and other people were giving me back as feedback and cooperation...
    I have taken a few years off from pursuing my degree, and now I really don't want to force myself into something that I'm not even sure I have the drive or desire for.
    A writing degree? What would you have done with that, that would've given you job security? That's kind of a tough one to market, isn't it? Unless you get it in Journalism.
    There are TONS of online writing opportunities.
  • AMHAMH
    Hmm there is a trade off with pay and security. I have security but very low pay, so I am looking to finally get out of my second job and workign 7 days a week and do a little freelance wrtiting on the weekend. I have to admit I am tired!
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    @Amelia What are some of these online writing opportunities that pay? I'm seriously interested.
  • AmeliaAmelia Veteran
    Journalism is kind of what I was going for. Also, a blog with ads or a paypal can generate mild revenue for someone who posts regularly. Of course it's a matter of being able to write well, but on websites like elance, there are people who post freelance writing jobs all the time.
  • AMHAMH
    Thank you amelia. I know I signed up with some of those and I can write decently but I just didn't have time to do it yet.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    Thanks, too, Amelia. I'll check out those listings. : )
Sign In or Register to comment.