Unlocking enjoyment: Creative exercises to uncover what drives you
We find a career we love at the intersection of what we enjoy, what we’re good at and what the world will pay us for. Often, it’s the first of these that is the most difficult to pin down. What would we really like to do as a career? Rather than tackling this head on, it can be easier to try and sneak up on an answer to this. Here are some exercises to try
Take two years off!
Imagine… You find an old lamp in the basement and, as you set to work with the brasso, a genie appears. They grant you two whole years off work, with all your salary paid – living expenses, accommodation, everything. You don’t need to worry about money – instead you have the time and the opportunity to do what you want to do. And your job will be waiting for you when you get back.
Now, the genie has a strict condition: to get the time off, you need to write down all the things that you will do in your second year.
Why the second year? The reason is that to get the time off, you must spend the first year travelling. You need to visit all your bucket list places, visit friends and family abroad, do that Grand Canyon BASE jump... By the end of the first year, you’ve done all the travelling that you want to do for a while.
Set a timer for five minutes, and free-write everything that comes to mind. Those things don’t have to be realistic! Perhaps you’d set up your own theme park, or become an Ultimate Frisbee pro. Whatever it is, write it down. Keep your pen moving.
…done?
Now read back over your ideas, and circle the two or three things that bring you the most energy when you read them. What is it about them that brings you energy? It can be helpful if you have someone else to ask you open ended questions – “what is important to you about that”, “what is it about that that fulfils you?”, “tell me more about that?”.
What themes do you see?
Keep an envy diary
Envy often gets a bad rap. Far from being a negative emotion, it’s actually a compass pointing out what’s missing in your life. Who are you envious of? Keep a note each time you read or come across someone and get a pang of envy.
In general, we’re not envious about everything about a person; it’s certain aspects of their personality or what they have done that attracts us. Get curious – what is it about them that you envy. And then think – how can you get more of that into your life?
What did you do for fun as a child?
When you’re a child, you usually do what you enjoy. As adults (and even as teenagers) we’re often influenced by outside things –extrinsic motivators – like money or prestige. But as a child, if you like doing something, you do it. It you don’t, you move on and try something else.
Of course, your tastes may have changed, but it’s often easy to forget what you enjoy. Think back – and perhaps split your childhood up into age brackets – 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 years. What did you do for fun?
The fun and unusual job
Make a list of 5 jobs that you’d like to try. Now list out another 15. You can go as unusual as you like – lion tamer, hot air balloon pilot… As with the other exercises, don’t think too much. Thinking gives your judging brain time to insert itself into your thought process – just go with whatever comes first to mind. Have a look through your longer, more imaginative list. What is it about these jobs that attracts you? Do you see any themes?
Don’t expect any of the exercises above to give you your dream job: if it were as easy as that, you wouldn’t be reading this article! The powerful part is the themes that come out. How might these be part of your future work? And how could you include these in your life today? By doing so, you can move closer to the future that’s right for you
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