Washington, DC: Is there such a thing as a mid-twenties crisis?
Carolyn Hax: I hope there's such a thing, because mine was doozy. Here's my theory: Being post-school and pre-settled these days means you can be anything, do anything your imagination and abilities allow. It's a great gift--if you don't happen to be the one dealing with it. Otherwise, it bites. When you have limitless choices, suddenly nothing you have or do is good enough, because you know, in the back of your mind, there's something out there that's better. My advice: Take a deep breath, be honest about what you really want, and chase after it hard. Even failure is rewarding if you're truly reaching for something. If you have no CLUE what to reach for, join the club. It helped me just to make sure I was always moving forward, even if I wasn't sure about the direction. You can also start a process of elimination, trying whatever new things appeal to you to see if they're right for you. Life's a big chemistry experiment; go out there and start blowing things up. (Not literally please.)
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When you have limitless choices, suddenly nothing you have or do is good enough, because you know, in the back of your mind, there's something out there that's better.
my favorite part.
you called recently!
i missed it!
i will try and return it sooon!
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Washington, D.C.: Any suggestions on where I could go to get some career advice? Although I pretty much like what I'm doing now, I'm still in that "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" mode. (I'm 27, and I really can't see myself doing this for the next 25 years or so.)
Carolyn Hax: The best career-hunting advice I've ever gotten was this:
Pretend you won the lottery. What would you choose to do with your time? In there, somewhere, if you're honest, is what you really love to do. Attach that love to a profession or two or three, then think of someone, anyone, who is in those fields, then call and ask to meet those people for lunch (you're buying, obviously) or even in their offices or whatever for 15 minutes. Ask questions, dig for ideas.
It'll help you dig if you keep in mind there are really just two things you need to figure out: 1. your strengths 2. all possible applications of that strength. Lack of creativity might be the root of all career suffering (or of 90 percent all law school applications).
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