you won’t know until you look…

~~~~~ 

In 15 short minutes, my eyes had been poked.  Prodded.  Watered.  Fed.  Even my poor eye lids had been stretched.

And now, my new optometrist was threatening to dilate my tired eyes…  (I was praying they’d return to normal after all this stress.)

Me:  “So, what made you pursue a career in eye care?” (hoping she’d forget to dilate my eyes).

Doc:  “Actually, I come from a family with eye problems.  Every one of us has had problems.  And I’ve personally had trouble since I was a little kid.”

Me:  “Uh, huh…”

Doc:  “I guess I took an interest in it because I started learning about how the eyes work — and how things affect them.  The more I learned, the more I wanted to know.”

I looked at her with fresh (by now, dilated) eyes.  She was a truly lovely woman.  Graceful.  Gentle.  Knowledgeable.

My visit lasted about an hour and a half.  But, do you know what really stood out in that amount of time?

Her bedside manner.

She was an excellent doctor, responding to all my questions about my own eyes.  She looked me in the eye when she spoke with me.  She engaged me in the conversation.

She was a doctor who genuinely appeared to care.

In my book, she’s a keeper.

She seemed to be a perfect fit for the work she has chosen to do.  Her entire being reflected a love of her job.

Now, it’s your turn…  

1) What have you or your family dealt with that’s left you knowledgeable in a particular area?

2) What have you dealt with that’s made you want to know more about a topic?

3)  If your entire being reflected a love of your job, what would you be doing for a living?

In hindsight, we sometimes miss those clues for careers we can love.  

Like the Good Doc, does your being reflect a love of your job?  If not, have you thought about changing course completely in your career?

Yes, it really is possible.  It doesn’t happen overnight.  But, it can happen sooner than you may think.

You may find the Changing Course Newsletter helpful.  It’s FREE to boot.  (I’ve been receiving it for years now.)

In it, you’ll find stories of ordinary people who wanted a new job, a new career — and sometimes a whole new life.  It’s about finding work you can love — work that feeds your soul. 

I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.