Reflections on my life journey from indecision to reconnecting to a life work that is important, meaningful, and significant.

InsideOut
Some children have a sense for what they want to do when they grow up. My childhood sense for life had a spiritual and soulful foundation. I wanted to do something important and meaningful and significant, and becoming a mother of five children was exactly that. As my children grew up, I knew I’d seek a repeat of an important, meaningful, and significant work experience beyond the home, but I was clueless on how to do that.

An enduring nagging within, that cluelessness prevailed as feelings of being disconnected from the world around me and not knowing where to go. Or how to get connected.

A meeting with a career coach and feedback on my Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) changed all that in a day. Rather than wondering where and with whom I might work, that day began a long exploration of my wonderful and complex talents Inside. And slowly but surely, the Outside—how I might connect to the world of work—came into focus.

Career
John Krumboltz, an established career theorist, developed a theory about supporting indecision in clients. He states that indecision is desirable and sensible, as it allows the opportunity for clients to benefit from unplanned events. This career theory is called planned happenstance.

I was relieved that someone understood me!

Twenty years ago, several unplanned events happened. I became desperate to leave my part-time job, and my younger brother passed away. Filled with indecision and grief, I sought out a temp agency.

And so I began my work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH—a fast track away from indecision and toward a connected life: a university’s Career Center focused on providing one-on-one, top-notch career guidance to engineering students. Three months later, I was hired for a permanent position, and now 20 years later, I am very grateful for this place where my work is important and meaningful and significant.

Direction
I once woke up from a wildly disorderly dream, frantic and confused. I was at a train station about to take a trip, but I didn’t know in what city I was. I wondered, where am I? Am I going in the right direction? How will I know? There are no signs. So much depends on me going in the right direction.

This dream occurred in the budding days of InsideOut Career Direction. I felt the tug and pull to explore again and regroup myself for work that would tap into my core strengths more fully. It was time. I was ready. And I wanted to begin the transition.

Yet that dream had me asking so many questions. In it I kept asking people if I was in the right place–in the right station. There were hundreds of people in that train station, and they all knew exactly where they were headed–which train to get on and which direction to head, even though the station had no signs, no maps, no announcements. I was frantic. Suddenly someone pointed me in a direction. I knew I had to step out. I held my breath and hoped it was the right direction.

That dream was so real. It reminded me of how I felt at one time in my life—desperate for a sign—and how many people feel that throughout their lives.

This dream communicated clearly what I should do for my next step. While we have plenty of signs for getting around town, for travel, for finding the right restaurant, at times it feels impossible to find the “place” for our vocation.

I launched InsideOut Career Direction to provide in-depth guidance and insight for anyone wanting to heed life’s mysterious tugs and pulls and who is motivated to grow in their life at work.