I'm reading a book at the moment called "Art as Experience" written in the 1930s by John Dewey. It's full of incredible insights and arguments about why Art and Creativity have become separated from everyday life. The book addresses that odd compartmentalisation of occupations and interests, and the separation of activity from insight, of imagination from work drudgery, of significant purpose from our habitual economic functioning.
As a clinical psychologist it's always intrigued me how people take on their fragmented work roles in life and survive unsatisfied. Do you feel that at work you're separated from the core of who you believe yourself to be and that achievements of meaning are missing?
Changing a career in the hope of finding something more satisfying is risky. It sounds easy to do, but is more difficult in practice. There is no harm, however, in understanding your talents to fund a career plan so that you are better aligned to transition toward what's meaningful.
Laurence Boldt in his book, Zen and the Art of Making a Living recommended the first effort to clarify your place in the world is to investigate your core values, to identify your work's purpose and state your objectives. You need to better understand your talents and motivation. What gets you excited? Secondly, if you decide to take the leap, you'll need to mentally project yourself into those career roles that nourish you. The way to do this is by developing a self-marketing campaign to promote and transition to that place or position where you'd like to be.
Finding meaning in the work you do is similar to re-drafting the story of your life. You want to find your voice and outline your plot. You want to develop your character and their role in the bigger picture. You will need to learn ways to resolve the tensions and conflicts that inevitably occur, either because of your character's temperament/personality or because of tensions introduced by the environment. You want to give your character new skills, new insights, new understanding to put them in the best position to journey through the narrative.
Why not spend time determining what is right for you in preparation for work that nourishes and invests your life with meaning?
Resources:
Boldt, L.G. (2010). Zen and the art of making a living. Penguin Books: New York.
Cameron, J. (1992). The artist's way. Penguin Putnam: New York.
A psychometric test based on the Myers-Brigg Indicator
