By Kent Johnson

Many people are lost or confused when it comes time to change careers, or start their first career, and they sometimes waste years of their lives and thousands of dollars in college tuition chasing a career path that's not right for them.

This is understandable, of course. A lot of people get mixed career signals from all sides: their spouse or partner thinks they should do one thing, their parents think they should do something else, their career counselor believes they should take yet another path.  And with literally thousands of possible jobs and careers in today's economy, it's easy for anyone to become bewildered by all the options.

What I recommend to clients is to take into consideration your life experiences. And I don't just mean work experience here--although that's certainly a part of it.  Your life experiences are the things you've done away from work: the things you have an interest in, a passion for. The things you enjoy doing.

Remember that treehouse you built as a child, and how much you enjoyed working with wood and fitting all the pieces together to make something solid and lasting? Or perhaps you were in the Girl Scouts, and you found that you were a natural leader and people listened to you and followed your directions.  Or maybe you spent a summer as a tour guide in the mountains, or at a local museum, and you felt comfortable getting up and speaking in public.

While these may not seem like experiences that relate to a possible career, they can serve as a window into your interest,  your talents, the things you really enjoy doing.  Too often people ignore what they enjoy in favor of more practical considerations when choosing a career path.

So take an inventory of your life experiences to date. Some of your own life experiences could be related to the following:

• Recreation and sports

• Family activities

• Summer jobs or internships

• Travel experiences

• Social or after-school activities

• Online interests

The list could go on and on. As you list your life experiences, try to focus on the things you really got excited about, the things you couldn't wait to get started on each morning or during your free time in the evenings. What did you find meaningful and rewarding in those experiences and activities?

For older workers, it can sometimes be hard to remember what gave them joy in their youth. All the years of working to support a family, raising children, paying bills, saving for retirement, etc, can cause people to forget that time in their lives when everything seemed possible.  But I think it's important to recapture some of that lost joy and excitement when considering a new job or career path.

On the other hand, you also want to take inventory of the experiences in your life that you didn't enjoy, or that you found difficult or frustrating.  These are things you probably want to steer away from or avoid when choosing your next job or career.

So in summary, take the time some weekend or evening to step away from your usual activities to take stock of your life experiences. Brainstorm. Write everything down on a sheet of paper, or on your computer word processor.  Don't leave anything out, no matter how trivial or irrelevant it might seem.

Who knows, you might just find the work your were born to do.

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