I’ve been unhappy for the past couple of years, but I don’t want to leave a secure job until I discover what I really want. I keep up on the job market, research occupational trends, and read about different careers. I’ve had some passing ideas but I don’t seem much further along than I was two years ago.  How can I figure out my focus and make a change?
  
Deb's Answer: 

You’re doing a great job at researching the job market, and you probably know all there is to know about occupational trends. 

This is valuable data to inform your decision, but the answer to your question about what you really want will come from within.  Until you apply this knowledge of the external environment to your internal landscape, you’ll avoid making a personal commitment to change your life. For the next month, turn your attention to your intention by monitoring your interests and motivators.

Make a note of everything you read, watch, and do for entertainment, education or spiritual fulfillment over the next thirty days. Write down what you find yourself talking about, thinking about and dreaming about. Pay attention to any elements of work (yours or others’) that you’re drawn to or that capture your imagination.  In your travels, notice any other work environments that appeal to you.

Keep a small notepad with you at all times, so you can jot down anything that strikes a chord. The more disciplined you are about recording your impressions, the more patterns you’ll discern and insights you’ll gain.  You can add a structured assessment of your interests and motivators by meeting with a career counselor or by completing inventories offered in Richard Bolles’, What Color is Your Parachute 2008.

Bolles suggests that after you pull all of this together, you condense the themes, and then, importantly, prioritize them on a one page diagram. One page sounds deceptively simple; you’ll need to devote ample time to assess the talents you’d like to use, along with the interests and working conditions that will motivate you in the next phase of your career. Whether you use a computer program to chart your findings or put them into Bolles’ flower diagram, collect and format your findings on one easily accessible page. 

If you’re waiting for everything to come into clear focus before taking action, you could wait a lifetime. To breathe life into the priorities that you identify for yourself, reach out to any one of your interests. Look into a continuing education class, take a three-day weekend trip to someplace you’ve wanted to visit, volunteer for a cause you believe in, go hear an outdoor concert, start asking everyone you meet about their careers, or join a committee at work that gives you exposure to people in other parts of your organization.

Any one of these gestures would add a little zip to your day, while opening  the door to your future.