With my recent decision to go back to grad school, I’ve been doing a lot of self-analysis.  Dream analysis.  Goal analysis.  Talent analysis.

It’s been very scientific.

Not really.

I’ve mostly just been trying to figure out what makes me happy, what I’m passionate about, and what I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.  I envy people who are able to make a living doing things that they enjoy wholeheartedly.

This, Joggernauts (I made that up…see, clever), is how I want to feel about my job:

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What?  I’m not passionate about accounting?  The career that I’ve been married to for the past ten years?  All of the sexy financial statements and budgets and number crunching?  They don’t make my heart sing with joy?

Eh.  Not so much.

It’s one of those things that I’m good at, but it just doesn’t do it for me.  Kind of like Star Jones and Al Reynolds.  Something is just off.  I didn’t realize this fact without a shadow of a doubt until I started to study and sit for my CPA exam.  My heart just wasn’t in it.  It occurred to me, after sitting for two of the sections and spending countless MONTHS of my life studying, that I did not want to be a CPA.

I didn’t want to spend the next 30-35 years of my adult life calculating depreciation of fixed assets and accounting for leases, liabilities & bonds.

Sounds fascinating, right?

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Those leases, liabilities & bonds really threw me for a loop.  And accounting for stock transactions.  And the constantly changing FAR regulations.

Ugh.  I get chills just thinking about all of that.

Over the past year, I came to terms with the fact that being a CPA just wasn’t for me.  I’d much rather learn about triglycerides and genetically modified organisms than I would about auditing and attestation.

In the end, I decided that accounting is boring, but nutrition is FUN!

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The problem is, in a world where we are mostly just encouraged to find a job and pay our bills, how do you step outside of the box, take a leap of faith, and pursue something you’re passionate about?  Heck, sometimes, we don’t even know what we want to do…all we know is that we’re not satisfied with what we’re doing.

I just happened upon something that I found helpful.  A little direction in the confusing world of pursuing one’s dreams.  The Short But Powerful Guide To Finding Your Passion.  As potentially mortifying as it feels to me at this very moment, I’m going to share my list of answers with you guys.  Because, well…I always keep it real, right?

Here we go.  The first four questions are things that you can answer now.  The last five are tasks that one must take on after the initial questions are answered.

Immediate Questions To Ask Yourself:

1) What are you good at?

• Listening
• Giving advice
• Making party invitations, favors, etc.
• Organizing
• Cooking
• Teaching
• Planning

2) What excites you?

• Children
• Food
• Balanced meals
• Planning parties
• Cooking
• Baking
• Feeding others

3) What do you read about?

• Cookbooks
• Journals of psychology
• Journals of holistic medicine and nutrition
• Eating disorders
• Holistic treatments
• How food affects life and health
• How to teach children healthy habits

4) What have you secretly dreamed of?

• Writing a book (for children, or how to book for adults)
• Consulting low income families on how to eat a more balanced diet
• Teaching low income families how to cook healthier
• Teaching moms how to feed their babies healthier
• Working with a holistic approach for treating disordered eaters
• Working in a holistic treatment center that incorporates diet changes for cancer sufferers

Ongoing Tasks:

5) Learn, ask, take notes…

6) Experiment, try…

7) Narrow things down…

8 ) Banish your fears…

9) Find the time…

10) How to make a living doing it…

So, there ya have it.  I love food.

Over the next 1.5-2 years of my life while I’m completing my degree, I will be working on points 5-9 in order to decide upon an area where I want to focus.  I’m leaning towards working with low income families.  It just feels right.

Now, it’s your turn.  Are there dreams that you’re not exploring?  Try answering questions 1-4 for yourself, and see what you come up with!

1) What are you good at?

2) What excites you?

3) What do you read about?

4) What have you secretly dreamed of?

And, if you are one of the chosen few who already do what you love and love what you do…well, high fives all around, because you are awesome.

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