Fancy Coffee Friday: Figuring Things Out

November 18, 2016

I’ve always been a bit of a fly by the seat of my pants person, and my next adventure is following along in the same manner. Numerous friends have asked me what I’ll be doing next when I’ve finished up at my present job and many of them have responded shocked, or at least incredulous, that my response is, “I don’t know.”

So THAT'S why they ask you when you're five! via memeguy.com — So THAT’S why they ask you when you’re five!
via memeguy.com

But, that’s how I’ve always been. I’ve always just followed my interests where they’ve led me and I’ve had a lot of different jobs, some similar to others, but inevitably, I leave the jobs. Some were because I moved away due to marriage and Mr Muse’s job being the main income, but the others were left because ultimately – I got bored. In my efforts to be completely honest with myself over why I’m leaving my current job, yes, the annoying coworker is definitely a reason, but the bigger issue is that I’m bored. I have perfected the system of what I do to the point where I cannot tweak it any more for better results. I can change up what I do to proven, albeit slower, methods, but ultimately, this project is done. I need something new.

Well... maybe more like 97% sure I don't know. via TheOdysseyOnline.com — Well… maybe more like 97% sure I don’t know.
via TheOdysseyOnline.com

I literally typed into Google this week, “What’s wrong with me that I can’t be happy doing one thing for a job.” Why? Because I have been bombarded with astonished statements and questions asking me, for lack of better words, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” One of the first results was to the website Puttylike.com and a Ted Talk by the creator of the site, Emilie Wapnik. Watching the video was another Ah Ha! Moment for me, because she explained her story and I thought, “Yeah! I feel the same!”

Then I laughed, because I’ve called myself a Renaissance Woman for years! So, Renaissance Woman, polymath, multipotentialite… whatever label that’s picked, they all point to the same thing: my interests, experiences, are numerous and varied.

Which brings me to a conversation on Twitter about jobs and careers I became involved in earlier this week and I recalled an episode of The Simpsons (if you’ve not figured this out yet, I’m a huge fan of the show) where Homer lists all of the jobs he’s done:

And I laughed, because – it’s me. I’ve done a lot of things, held a lot of jobs, because they sounded interesting. And when I’ve learned all I needed or wanted, I moved on.

I’ve tried to think about a good answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As a child, I didn’t know, and I still don’t know. There are just far too many interesting things to do in life. Why did, or do, I need to limit myself to just one thing?

But, all of that is not to say I don’t know anything at all about what I’m doing next. I know this much of what I’ll be doing:

Writing more
Learning more Spanish
Working somewhere

I think that’s a good start for 2017.

Have you always known what you “wanted to be when you grew up”?

How would you feel about reading some flash fiction? (Written by me.)

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12 responses to “Fancy Coffee Friday: Figuring Things Out”

sassycoupleok

November 18, 2016

Made a total career change when I was 52, everyone thought I was nuts. I was incredibly good at what I did and was certified as well. But it became boring and just didn’t pay what it should have for the knowledge that I had and the time spent getting certified. So I found something else and never looked back. It’s all mind over matter and what matters is being happy at what you do. Flash fiction, maybe but I’m hard to entertain. If it’s sassy, maybe……lol

Reply
1. The Amusing Muse
  
  November 22, 2016
  
  That happiness part is what I think a lot of people are missing out on. I posed the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question to a friend. They responded “I’ve always wanted to be a chiropractor.” After I pause I asked why they aren’t going for it, they said, “I’d have to go back to school, and I’m already so many years out of undergrad, my credits probably don’t count…” and a variety of other things. I recognized it as “fear of the unknown”, and yeah, I get it. They are the only person paying their bills and I realize I’m incredibly fortunate that I’m not in that situation so I CAN quit one thing to try something new. But, if you’re unhappy, wouldn’t you at least try?
  
  Reply
  1. sassycoupleok
    
    November 22, 2016
    
    Just listen to your heart girl, it will never lead you astray !! If your happy, material things don’t matter as much. 🙂
    
    Reply
2. The Amusing Muse
  
  November 22, 2016
  
  Also, it’s a good think you’re not the only person who wants entertainment reading this blog. 😛
  
  Reply
hontouniheart

November 20, 2016

I never had an answer to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I still don’t.

I suppose it’s because “what I want to be when I grow up” cannot be satisfied by a thing. What I want to be is …. confident, not an asshole, present, honest, generous, balanced, etc. Not that I’ve achieved any of these. But… none of that is about a job.

A job is a thing I do. So is a career. But… it’s not “what I want to be.”

What I want to be is me. I’m a few decades into that, and it hasn’t gotten boring yet. Kind of a soap opera / horror film at times / comedy / How-To / Home Shopping Network / Bugs Bunny reel at times.

Reply
1. The Amusing Muse
  
  November 22, 2016
  
  Ooo – muy profundo! That’s a good way of thinking about it – a job is just a thing I do. Honestly, I tried to look at what I’m doing with that in mind – the job isn’t who I am, just what I do – but I kept drifting back to “I’m so bored out of my fucking skull right now…” Perhaps I should have reworded my question with DO instead of BE?
  
  I am forming a clearer picture of what I want to do and be with all the thinking about it that I’ve been doing. Last night’s Headspace session had me visualize to a time I remember when I had no stress (or at least I don’t remember having stress) and I was content, happy, etc. The first thought that popped into my head was being alone out in the woods as a 5 year old, my knapsack packed with snacks, colors, and coloring books. I would hike through the neighboring fields to get to the woods, find “my tree” at a bend in a creek and near a meadow pond, and just sit and watch the world. Seriously. I explored that woods and knew it all by heart – or so I thought. I didn’t venture too close to the highway that was a half mile down, but I knew very well the area I spent my time. I was at home in the woods, the quite, the aloneness. My worries were temporary and I was surrounded by my favorite place.
  
  I guess it’s fitting that I love hiking and living in the woods.
  
  Reply
  1. sassycoupleok
    
    November 22, 2016
    
    Imagining the ebb and flow of someone else’s emotions is what day dreams are made of. 🙂
    
    Reply
  2. sassycoupleok
    
    November 22, 2016
    
    My brother and I were fortunate to grow up in a rural area where we had railroad tracks, trains and a very dense wooded area where we hiked and explored until we knew every tree and every spot the creek that ran thru it could be safely crossed. Yes the solitude, quietness, except for the wildlife and aloneness was indeed a time like no other for us. It was a place for imagination. We could be whoever we wanted to be. It was fun pretending to be Tarzan, Robinson Caruso, George Patten, John Wayne and Chief Sitting Bull to name a few. I still find that same solitude, quite and aloneness when I find an obscure trail to hike and spend a few hours off that path. Sadly, it’s a time that has mostly passed us by.
    
    Reply
    1. The Amusing Muse
      
      November 22, 2016
      
      Has it passed us by or have we “forgotten” it? I think it’s more the latter. As each generation removes itself from the wild more-and-more, it’ll only be something “other”, and not something “normal”.
  3. hontouniheart
    
    November 22, 2016
    
    That so freaking beautiful. Holy hiking, that’s beautiful.
    
    Reply
John

March 9, 2017

So I’m finally catching up with blog posts, which have just been collecting in my inbox (I actually think it was a funk I went into, after the election, with which I’m only just now really coming to grips). So I apologize for a bunch of comments on VERY old posts.

But this one speaks to me. I do not love what I do – though I love the paycheck and security my job provides. I want to create – I want to write, and make music, and perform, and have sex, and drink wine, and cook, and feast, and hike. But I also want to watch my kids grow up. So, for now, I keep with the computer stuff – and I do as much with music as I can — but, some day, I’ll be a tour guide. Or an author. Or a piano player on a cruise ship. Some day.

Reply
1. The Amusing Muse
  
  March 9, 2017
  
  I hear ya! Not having kids, you and I are in slightly different places in life, but yeah – this change in income, as much as Mr Muse and I had discussed it, IS a change. And now I start looking at the projects we want to do and places we want to travel and I know that we won’t be able to accomplish them as quickly. It’s a big change and one that I’m presently struggling with.
  
  Reply