Reinvention Question: What is Your "I Can't Stop Myself" Mojo?

 

Everyone knows that skills, work experiences and values are important factors to analyze as part of a career assessment exercise.  But, I maintain that paying attention to your personal idiosyncrasies -- those behaviors that you just can't stop yourself from doing -- can provide equally compelling clues to your vocational direction.

I was reminded of this last week while speaking with a client about her favorite hobbies.  She discussed her love of cooking, and then almost as an afterthought, casually mentioned that she routinely inputs all of her recipes into her personal computer so she can quickly find them at a moment's notice.

I was impressed, but to her this was nothing out of the ordinary. She is a natural organizing guru.  A mom of two young children, organizing recipes is as much a part of her "must-do" routine as fixing bottles and changing diapers. (Not surprisingly, her favorite tasks at work including organizing data into spreadsheets).   The need to create order out of chaos -- whether at home or at the office -- calls to her with a magnetic-like force, even while juggling a four-month old infant and a four-year old son.  

My colleague LInsey can't stop herself from connecting people to resources.  Whenever I need any obscure career-related information, she is the first person I call.  Linsey has a book collection that is so expansive it could rival a small town library.  I once asked her if she actually read all the books she ordered.  "No," she replied, "but I love knowing that if I needed to find the information, I'd know where to get it."   Fortunately, Linsey's "connection- compulsion" is a wonderful trait for a career counselor and her reputation for sharing her knowledge library endears her to colleagues and clients alike. 

Another friend, a freelance editor, can't stop herself from proof-reading everything she reads.  She scans menus for typos and makes corrections to friend's e-mails.  While her perfectionist tendencies can sometimes be irritating to friends, that same trait is invaluable to her grateful clients.  Editing isn't a task for her, it is a pleasure.

What about you?  What are you the go-to person for?   What can't you stop yourself from doing?

Pay attention to your "I Can't Help Myself" behaviors.  Those quirky, sometimes compulsive, "so-you"  behaviors, just might hold the key to your next career move. 

Comments

[Linsey Levine]

Hi Nancy,

Many thanks for mentioning my obsession with with books and helping people make connections to resources as well as people - it truly is my passion and definitely was important in directing my mid-life career change to Career Counselor! And I do read the books, just not each one all the way through :-)