Boxes.  I’ve talked about them before.  We get into them by following set patterns of behavior without question.  So what do we do when we realize we’re in a box that we don’t want to be in anymore? More importantly, what do we do when we have no idea what box we do want to be in?

There are a lot of resources out there that talk about how to network, how to find the job of our dreams, etc. But the more important work, the core work, is to figure out what we want.  Stephen Covey once said that we can fight and scratch and climb our way up the ladder of success, only to get to the top and find that the ladder is on the wrong wall.

Today, I want to talk about how to find the right wall. Sometimes, all we need is to find the right village with the walls that we enjoy – meaning, we don’t necessarily need to flip our entire lives inside out when we’re dissatisfied. We can incorporate elements of our ideal lives into the one we’re living now. By doing so, small changes can be made that, over time, can help realign our lives – and our ladders – onto the right wall.

So how do we figure out what we enjoy?

One way is to grab our trusty journal. Don’t have a trusty journal, you say? Go to the dollar store and grab a spiral notebook, or get some loose-leaf paper. Something, anything to write on will do. Now, number your page from 1-5. Moving as quickly as you can, write down 5 occupations that sound fun.

Next, number from 1-5. Write down 5 occupations that intrigue you, but you’d personally never try. They might include professional skydiving instructor or tarot card reader with a traveling circus.

Now, write 5 hobbies that sound fun.

And finally, 5 things you would love to try once, if you didn’t have to tell anyone you did it. Maybe, go to a strip club, or midnight golf, or hitch hike to New Orleans (which is more fun if you don’t already live in New Orleans, but you get my point).

Now you have your list of things to explore. You can read up on them, do internet searches about them, talk to people who are already doing them. There are many ways to incorporate our desired lives into our current ones if we are willing to start small, be creative, and honor our own creative impulses.

Now, I’m curious. What’s one thing from your lists that you’re willing to share? Mine is be a professional tarot card reader and psychic with my own storefront, Madam Noony. What about you?