# No direction, time running out, someone help, please.



## ElectricHead (Jun 3, 2011)

I've been waiting on some light bulb to click on for far too long in regard to finding that career path that just whispers my name like a droning in my head.

I take career aptitude tests, or whatever they're called, and everything points to the health field, physical or mental. Nothing really stands out for me and I often get the result "occupational therapy" but it just doesn't really sound that appealling to me. I know it's a great match for many INFP people and the purpose of living a life to help others sounds great. Just that, it really doesn't interest me.
I did look into nutritionists and thought, "hey, that actually sounds great", although I have only read a few paragraphs on ehow.com. So if anyone knows anything about that field and thinks that it might fit an INFP pretty well, I'm all ears (or eyes, since it's a computer screen, whatever).

Things I'm decent at. Helping motivate people, such as making sure they hit the gym when they need someone to keep them from being lazy or slack, and helping them get over depression and whatnot (have helped more than a few friends with this). 

I kind of weirdly like to create or structure things to become beneficial for a group, such as while playing franchise mode on Madden, I prefer playing the manager off season part even more than the actual games themselves, however becoming an NFL General Manager is out of reach for me. I have a million ideas at work that I think would benefit all of us in various ways, some big, some small, but they fall on deaf ears.

I used to be both into writing and playing music and writing fiction, as well as was a very good student in art class, but have been out of practice so long I think I've lost all creativety. 

I'm naturally empathetic, but find it easy to stay objective and can seem apathetic. I say this because I handle phone calls from patients about their bills, and normally they'll start the call angry, but we'll end the call much better mood regardless of whether the resolution ended in their favor or not. I like to study and observe people also.

Things I'm not good at. - I can be professional for short bursts when involved with communication at work and whatnot, but I am not a people person at all. I like people, I just suck at talking to them unless there is some connection right away, which is extremely rare. I want to help people but am not bleeding heart about it. 

Working in rigid environments with a lot of nitpicky rules. I need flexibility or I become trapped, stressed, frustrated, and angry at authority, and ultimately deeply depressed.

I'm not good with details, as am more of a big picture person. I am not the best decision maker either as there are so many options that sound good and I don't want to have to set a decision into the stone tablets as they say. 

other stuff I'm sure.





Is there some magical potion to where I can put all of these types of things into one and end up driving to work with a smile on my face when I pull into the parking lot?

I'm afraid I'm doomed to working at a job I hate forever without having the answers to change it.


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## xEmilyx (Jan 3, 2011)

Well, it seems that you wouldn't want to be held down by just one job right? you want options? I suggest maybe a few different jobs for fun. People change their career many, MANY times over their life, so it's not like there's this extremely right career choice for you, there could be many. So it sounds like you don't want to be some sort of occupational therapist, and that's okay  
You seem to have an idea of what you want to do already, such as a Nutritionist and all of the paragraphs you wrote after it try to point out that you would be great at that job. Soooo...I suggest going with your first instinct of being a Nutritionist, try it out, and if that doesn't work that's okay. Even if it's not the job for you, when you search out for another job, your Nutritionist job will only give you more experience. And if you really can't figure it out, pray, that always helps. 
So let me ask you this one question.
What's stopping you?


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## ElectricHead (Jun 3, 2011)

I'm not sure what's stopping me really. Perhaps it's worry. Worry that I will spend a lot of energy, time, and money to persue something that won't come to fruition because of my lack of confidence and people skills. I am living in fear apparently, and it's holding me back. 
Perhaps it's something different entirely that I can't place my finger on.

Thanks for your advice. I really needed it.


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## Celtic Dreams (Sep 7, 2011)

Wow, this question resonates so much with me. The hardest thing in my life has been trying to figure out what I want to do with it. You sound like being a health professional would be a really good idea, except for the stress and rigid rules part. If I were you I'd definitely start towards a career in physical therapy. Why? Let me give you a few reasons:

1. Physical therapy is a quickly growing field with many more job openings expected in the near future.
2. It pays pretty well, and the more specialized you become the higher the salary you can demand.
3. The schooling doesn't take forever and cost a fortune.
4. You can easily take your credits put towards getting this degree into any other medical or health related field, or even a generic science degree. Other jobs that are comparable in the health field are CNA, X-Ray tech, dental hygienist, etc. These are jobs you don't need a four year degree for. You can always go back to school after a few years when you find your focus.
5. Physical Therapists enjoy a greater degree of freedom than nurses, because they work with healing injuries rather than emergencies, their schedules and the pace of their day is less hectic.
6. PT's are definitely in the motivation field. More than half of their job is working with people to get them to do their exercises, lose weight, maintain their appointments, etc. This is a great job for anyone interested in working with people.
7. While nutrition is a great field, the schooling needed to get into a good position is higher. However if you want to work as a dietician, the requirements are lower. You could get into that field and check it out, then go into nutrition later on if you really like it. 

Hope this helps a little.


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## xEmilyx (Jan 3, 2011)

rejectedreality said:


> I'm not sure what's stopping me really. Perhaps it's worry. Worry that I will spend a lot of energy, time, and money to persue something that won't come to fruition because of my lack of confidence and people skills. I am living in fear apparently, and it's holding me back.
> Perhaps it's something different entirely that I can't place my finger on.
> 
> Thanks for your advice. I really needed it.




I think that if we can get you to understand yourself better as to why you're holding back on getting a job, and know how to fix it, it might help you in taking that one step foreword. You know it's the first step that's the hardest in any journey. To push yourself to face your fears is noble. So good job in trying to work this out. 

Since your afraid of spending time, and money on something that might fail. You even mention that it's fear that's stopping you, but we've got to figure out what kind of fear it is...and my guess is: fear of failure. Here's a quote from this website: _"If you chase your dreams and fall flat on your face, worst-case scenario, how long will it take you to recover? The answer is probably less than you expect. How hard would it really be to find another job? Chances are you could recover completely in a few months. Is the fear of a few rough months strong enough to keep you in a mediocre situation indefinitely?"
_
here's the website: 7 Ways to Overcome the Fear of Failure | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement

Failure is hard to deal with, trust me I know. And I know that it's hard to get out of the rut that your stuck in. It's scary, but when you put things into perspective the fear diminishes. It's very calming. Research a little more about how to help yourself, and just start working. J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it published. J.K. Rowling is no better than you are, yeah she might be better at writing, but i'm saying that you have just as much potential as she does.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


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## ElectricHead (Jun 3, 2011)

xEmilyx said:


> I think that if we can get you to understand yourself better as to why you're holding back on getting a job, and know how to fix it, it might help you in taking that one step foreword. You know it's the first step that's the hardest in any journey. To push yourself to face your fears is noble. So good job in trying to work this out.
> 
> Since your afraid of spending time, and money on something that might fail. You even mention that it's fear that's stopping you, but we've got to figure out what kind of fear it is...and my guess is: fear of failure. Here's a quote from this website: _"If you chase your dreams and fall flat on your face, worst-case scenario, how long will it take you to recover? The answer is probably less than you expect. How hard would it really be to find another job? Chances are you could recover completely in a few months. Is the fear of a few rough months strong enough to keep you in a mediocre situation indefinitely?"
> _
> ...


Hey thanks, I am going to read into that next chance I get (I gotta run), but before I do... Isn't it kind of ironic that one fears failure, which may very well prevent them from even trying to succeed, so therefore, you really kind of end up failing anyway?


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## ficsci (May 4, 2011)

rejectedreality said:


> I'm not sure what's stopping me really. Perhaps it's worry. Worry that I will spend a lot of energy, time, and money to persue something that won't come to fruition because of my lack of confidence and people skills. I am living in fear apparently, and it's holding me back.
> Perhaps it's something different entirely that I can't place my finger on.
> 
> Thanks for your advice. I really needed it.


*hugs* you're not alone
I'm sorry, I'm not wise enough myself to offer any good advice


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