Q: I'm trying to work out "what I want to be when I grow up." I work in physical therapy, previously in the geriatrics field but currently with preschoolers who are developmentally delayed. I really enjoy working with the children (and the elderly too) but don't enjoy the physical therapy part of it. I don't feel my mind is geared for the scientific methodology it requires.I feel the compassion, friendship, and caring I give is just as important as the physical therapy, but in the real world they don't pay me for that.
I guess what I'm asking in a roundabout way is what suggestions can you make for discovering "my passion" and turning it into my career. In your affirmations tape, you say, "I understand that I already have all that I need to accomplish what I was born to do." I'm having trouble knowing "what I am born to do." Any suggestions?
A: It sounds like you already know what you love doing: offering your compassion, friendship, and caring.
If you're interested in making a career of those things, you will need to attach those attributes to one discipline or another, or a business that gives you an opportunity to support people.
I'm not sure why the physical therapy arena doesn't cut it for you anymore--you've already done the hard part and gotten your degree, and it's a very good place to offer people compassion, caring, and friendship.
You may be running into what Maria Nemeth, coach and author of "The Energy of Money," calls "trouble at the border." That's when you have a clear vision of what you want to do, but when it comes time to actualize that vision and do all the things required to make it happen, you lose the charge that drives you because it seems overwhelming, boring, difficult, or all of the above.
