For years, everyone I knew accused me of the above. I didn’t blame them. I wavered between five majors in undergrad. And I had maybe 10 jobs in 10 years.
I always wanted to be one of those girls who knew what they wanted to do when they were little and actually stick with it. The reason why I finally settled on writing after getting a masters in counseling, is that writing gave me the option to explore many different things. I couldn’t get bored. Writing was a constant challenge for me.
But I knew I wasn’t the only one.
My coaching client is multitalented and struggles with the same issue. My coach had several interests and juggled various creative jobs.
The problem isn’t that your indecisive or commitment phobic. The problem is you’re passionate about a lot of things and don’t know where to get started. How do you focus your energy on one thing when there are so many other sparkling careers vying for your attention?
When I read The Renaissance Soul, everything suddenly made sense to me. It gave me hope that even though my path wasn’t a straight line, I could still get to my dreams. And I could do so without having to go back to school or spend time I didn’t have starting from ground zero in a new career field.
It’s not too late for us. Here are a few ways we can start tackling our dream list.
- Choose four focal points. I’m sure you could list a dozen, but zoom in on the four things you really, really want to tackle right now.
- Get paid while you work on your dreams. Take a job where you’ll either learn what you need to succeed or one that gives you oodles of time to read, research and network with others.
- Decide what needs your attention most and focus on that. It’s easy for those of us with too many interests to get overwhelmed with trying to do everything perfectly. Create a list of tasks and decide what degree of perfection is required to do each. This will help refocus your energy of what needs your attention most.
- Throw a party. Invite ten people and ask them to come with three specific things they need. It could be a resource like a CD player or it could be information. Have each person ask their question to see if anyone can provide help or support. Second and third questions are great for those who weren’t able to get what they needed in the first round.
- Use the PRISM test to decipher how committed you are to this focal point. Price: What will it cost you to accomplish this dream and are you willing to sacrifice whatever time and energy are required? Reality: What will your days look like when working on this particular interest? Integrity: Why is this a worthwhile endeavor? Specificity: Success is different for you than others. Renaissance Souls usually don’t have one path towards success. For you, what would success look like? Measurability: When do you want to accomplish this goal and how many hours will you need to get there?
The truth is you’re capable of accomplishing everything that matters to you. You’ve been told to settle for one thing your entire life. But you don’t have to and you can be successful. You just need to define what success looks like and what you want most to focus on right now.
If you need help getting started, I’m opening up September for the first time to new clients. As a Renaissance Soul, I’m also designing a new product that I’m hoping to eventually share with you. This means I might have to close up my coaching business in October. If you’re curious to see what coaching can do for you, this is a good time to get in touch with me. Hope to chat with you soon!