What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do
Nathalie is a lovely reader from Ireland and a fellow blogger who commented on an earlier post today asking about a statement I made along the lines of doing what you are meant to do in this world. Nathalie expressed that she's in search of her calling and started her design blog as a way to explore a world that she feels connected to and that gives her happiness, but she sees herself doing more. "I love design, interiors, art but am not sure which area to focus on," Nathalie continues, "I know the day I will find out I will definitely go for it."
She then asks, "Do you have any suggestions on how to find your calling in the design world? Is there anyone out there that feels the same way? What are we supposed to do when we don't know?".
This is a great topic Nathalie. Really. Great. I can't wait to explore it here on decor8. I have a million ideas to share including how important it is to carry an umbrella (ella ella) with you as you travel down your newfound path. I'll also explain what type of umbrella I speak of. I will work on rounding up 10 people including myself that have found their calling and I'll ask them exactly how they did it and post that here along with their advice on how anyone can find their voice. We'll get you the answers that you need, Nathalie!
If YOU readers have any tips or questions on this topic, please leave them below so I can include them in next week's article.
Stay tuned and thank you for getting the ball rolling on this topic, Nathalie!
(umbrella from stylish stuff via design undercover)
Labels: shop girl, what to do
posted by decor8 @ 3/26/2008
50 Comments:
Design for Mankind just had a great discussion up on this - well more like surviving financially as an independent artist. You can check it out in the comments section on this post - http://designformankind.blogspot.com/2008/03/dailies-marisa-from-creative-thursday.html
and I did a follow up on this topic on my blog here - http://pleasesirblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/living-fulfilled-life.html
Great topic! I feel the same, my friends say how good I am at this and that.
But how can I channel my energy in one (and which) direction? its so hard to decide or know what to do?
I have just left behind my old comfortable job to start a new job which is awful and in no way related to interiors or design, I must have been mad but it has just made me more determined to work for myself.
I read all my favorite blogs and see how all these clever women are starting their own businesses but I still feel a bit baffled by it all.
(is there such a thing as too much inspiration?)
Jess
Holly,
thanks so much again, you have no idea how much this means to me.
I am really over the moon and feel so priviliged to be part of this great community :)
This is a really good topic though I do believe that what you are meant to do has cycles and changes over the years.
I am not in the career that I had planned on when I was an Industrial Design major in college. Through personal choices unrelated to my career, I took a job completely unrelated and wound up learning more about the world and myself and worked my way up to high level management in a short span of time.
When more personal choices took me to a new geographic location, I abandoned the corporate life, began working for a non profit, producing and selling my art, volunteering my time to various organizations and serving and leading the board of a local guild. I am now well respected and known in my community for the work that I have done.
This is the shorter version of the story of course but basically I just kept my eyes and mind open to all new opportunities that crossed my path as well as seeking out events that might lead me to the next opportunity. Remaining positive about whatever I was doing at the time because all of life is a learning experience.
I have come to a point where I need new challenges now and all these experiences that have lead me to where I am will enhance whatever next opportunity I choose to follow.
Some people have the knack for knowing what they are meant to do for their life. For me, it is the journey of collected experiences through life that teach me where to look to find where I am supposed to be.
I wish all the readers here luck on their journeys!
GREAT TOPIC!
So many people go through life feeling that empty "unfulfilled" feeling. And that's simply not how it's supposed to be. I believe that God has a dream for everyone of us and he created us specifically for something that makes our heart's sing.
Part of my mission on my blog is to inspire and encourage others to find this calling of theirs and have the COURAGE to take the leap off the road that SOCIETY screams we should be on. Check out more at http://www.offthewallhome.com/blog/2008/02/12/be-thought-of-as-foolish/
Life is about more than fitting in and having "success" as the world see's it. You just can't be scared to pursue your dream!
Hope this helps Natalie, and I can't wait to read more about this:)
Thanks SO much for addressing this. I have the same questions. I love art, design, interiors, etc. but do not know how to translate that into a new career. I suspect the question is not so much "what do I love to do?" but "what do I love to do that other people might value, that is, pay for?"
I make a decent living (financially if not spiritually now) and, to be completely honest, I'm also a little hesitant about the whole "starving artist" thing. Maybe that's shallow, but it's a real concern since I'm the primary breadwinner in my family now.
First:
Oh my god, is the umbrella by NOA NOA?
An umbrella at hand is always good, you never how harsh the wind blows. It's also quite handy for stormy critics. By the way, you don't have to please the whole world.
I'm actually in the middle of finding my way. I live in Germany and am a New-Berliner. The craft scene is not so lively as in the states or Great Britain. But thanks to Holly who posted some very interessting Berlin links I'm moving: I quit my fulltime job as a copy writer in the commercial business and now eagerly doing some crafty card project. I came across the whole craft thing via Holly. So I owe you a lot!!! Really!!! Since about one and a half year I'm now professionally obsessed with craft. And when I try to locate and understand why i'm now right in this situation in my life - quitting a fulltimejob and looking for a halftime job because of my craft obsession and setting up an etsy shop - well the answers lie in my childhood. I can't immage my life without colours and beautiful things. You will feel your calling. It's a very emotional thing. You can't explain it rationally. I found it through persistence. I didn't force it. So one leads to another. You won't even recognize that your on the right way. There'e an chinese Prover that says "The way is the goal". Maybe it sounds kitchy but it's true.
And always remember: Keep calm and carry on.
I feel like this post was meant for me! As I sit here beginning my professional career (recent graduate from architecture school), I am continually beckoned to all these design blogs and especially d8. I know I have time to figure it out but I also don't want to wait! Thanks so much for the post and all your postings as they've been super helpful in inspiring and enlightening me in the ways of the design world.
My concern is that I have no formal education or training in design and I feel that at 35 I'm too old to go back to school full time. How would I support myself!?
I once read that to find your calling look back on your childhood and see what made you happy. I tried law and then psychology and came back to drawing, paper, and fabric which has always made me happy. I used to make tiny pillows and ship them to my grandmother when I was little and now I've started the process of doing it for a living. Once I realized that and kept it in my heart I was inevitably led right back there.
This is a very interesting topic and one which I am also wrestling with. I hope you give us some good advice.
I'm not in the design business, but I do make my living doing something creative, so I hope it's okay for me to comment here. I have found that the more I move towards what makes me happy, the more successful I am.
I find it useful to study what other people have done but I know that my career path will be completely unique - and that it will unfold at its own pace.
Do your very best work every time. No project is too small when you're starting out. Make every project fabulous. I don't believe in bad clients - even in the most difficult situations, I believe that there is a way to make people happy in the end. There's this interesting idea out there that to be successful in your own career, you need 1,000 fans. We all start at 0 and move forward with each beautiful, careful, thoughtful, creative piece of work we produce.
Best of luck, Nathalie!
This is a really interesting discussion. I know it can be hard to find your calling for many people. My sister just turned 33 and decided she w