How often do you get the opportunity to reinvent yourself in every way imaginable? Imagine you are a blank slate and you can do anything, be anybody. No one knows you and you are in complete control over how you project yourself, the interests you foster, and what career you embark upon. I am lucky, or unlucky, depending upon your point of view, to be in the position of being able to radically alter my life. My husband and I are about to embark on an adventure that has had me thinking about what I am passionate about, how I want to spend my time, and how I want to be perceived in my new environment.
This evolution in thought started out over job prospects. My chosen and recently adopted career fields have recently undergone a massive upset. Compounding that problem, the area where we are moving has a ten percent unemployment rate. I realize that my identity is wrapped up in my chosen career field, and as much as it hurts, I know that I have to be open to defining myself in new ways.
The good news is that I am ready for this evolution. The bad news is that I don’t know where to begin! And I find the prospect to be somewhat daunting! I have been thinking obsessively about the minute ways that I identify myself (hobbies, interests, personality traits) in order to identify what I value the most, what skills I can leverage and what I want to change in order to thrive going forward.
Speaking of identity, two traits that I don’t think I will be able to shake are the desire to plan and organize. I can’t tell you if these personality traits stem from nature or nurture, but I can assure you they are deeply ingrained. In this vein, I have signed up for two resume writing classes in the beginning of December, begun conversations with a couple of professional contacts in our new locale, and am trying to schedule a time to take a professional aptitude test to identify potential new fields for professional growth. I do know that I want to break away from valuing myself in terms of my career, but that doesn’t mean that I want to take myself out of the game!