I Graduated and Hated my Career — Here’s how I Repurposed my Skills

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

1431

Abstract

ow would things sound if I stopped thinking?</li></ul><h2 id="9fa8">Somatic Field</h2><ul><li>Which part of my body is the least comfortable?</li><li>Which parts of my body are hardest to detect?</li><li>What happens when I concentrate on two body parts at once?</li><li>Do any bad emotions arise during the body scan?</li><li>How would my body change if I stopped thinking about it?</li></ul><h2 id="778a">Taste Field</h2><ul><li>Does the taste change as I roll it around my tongue?</li><li>How does the intensity compare with other things I have tasted?</li><li>How would it taste if I had never smelled it?</li><li>Does my feeling about the taste change between first contact and swallow?</li><li>How would it taste if I were asleep right now?</li></ul><h2 id="a87c">Olfactory Field</h2><ul><li>Would I recognize the smell if I had not seen it?</li><li>What adjectives are suitable? (Smooth? Bold? Sweet? Floral?)</li><li>How close must it come to me before my nose can detect it?</li><li>Does it improve my mood or worsen it?</li><li>What memories does it bring to mind?</li></ul><h2 id="5631">Cognitive Field</h2><ul><li>If my thoughts were rabbits in a yard, how crowded would the yard be?</li><li>If my attention was a dog, which rabbits would it chase?</li><li>How much of my focus three seconds ago was on the past?</li><li>How does a little circle make me feel?</li><li>What would I be dreaming now if I were not awake?</

Options

li></ul><h2 id="9690">Emotional Field</h2><ul><li>How easy or hard is it to turn each feeling on and off?</li><li>What changes will happen when I start to pray?</li><li>If I were the prow of a ship would my sea be bright under the sun?</li><li>Who have I shared this suffering with?</li><li>How deeply do I love you?</li></ul><figure id="ef74"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*31vXTbzWPAdDxN72iuu31w.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by Author | Dancing with the Goddess</figcaption></figure><h2 id="1f17">Questions After the Scans are All Finished</h2><ul><li>Did I close my eyes for most of the scans?</li><li>In what ways are mental fields like maps?</li><li>If I were only allowed to keep one field, which one would I choose?</li></ul><h1 id="010c">Note</h1><p id="4022">To the best of my recollection, all the questions are in my own words. If I copied anybody from unconscious memory it was probably my first remote meditation teacher, <a href="https://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/mark-w-muesse/">Mark Muesse</a>, a Therevada practitioner from Texas.</p><h1 id="d3c3">About the Author</h1><p id="f104">Tom spends his workdays asking people in a big store if they would like any information about heating and cooling. He often wears an Indiana Jones hat. A grapevine in his front yard convinced him to let her live and to even provide her with a little support. That’s all. :)</p></article></body>

I Graduated and Hated my Career — Here’s How I Repurposed my Skills

Three years ago today, I was shaking hands with the dean and walking out the school doors for the last time. I was beyond ecstatic to start my job search and step into the video game industry. Little did I know, it would kind of suck.

I went through my millennial life crisis at 22 as my career was getting in the way of my happiness. Working in the video game industry turned out to be far from just fun and games.

It was hard for me to leave an industry that I had grown comfortable with and knowledgeable about, the same would be for most people. Work life balance is no joke, and that is ultimately why I left my “dream job”.

When going through a career change it is near impossible to avoid thoughts similar to “did I just waste several years of my life? am I starting from zero again? should I be going back to school?” and those are genuine concerns to have. After all, having no career will certainly impede your life plans. The unknown is scary.

I stopped feeling sorry for myself and instead did something about it. With no trust fund or a large amount of savings, my only option was to figure out how I could change careers in the shortest amount of time possible to avoid going insane.

I started with writing all my skills down on paper to reassure myself that I really wasn’t starting from zero again. After being able to see all the abilities that I could offer people, I realized just how many industries I could actually be a part of. That Photoshop class I took in my first semester was now giving me options. That 3D Art class I attended is now opening doors in architecture-related fields. That Public Speaking class taught me all there was to know about pitching to investors. I finally figured out the reason that whenever I asked older folks if they regretted going to school, 95% of them answered no. Even when a skill is learned for completion of a specific task, it does not mean it can not be used in other areas of your life.

After reading my skills on that piece of paper over and over, it wasn’t long before I found a new career and venture to pursue.

I now had graphic design skills, I knew how to speak in front of people, and I knew what it took to make a good story. These were all skills Video Game School taught me as funny as that sounds. They all pointed towards content creation. One problem, I had never even held a professional camera before.

Switching careers is not as easy as driving to a new office building on Monday morning. You are changing your everyday habits and challenging your mind with brand new tasks.

I knew I would have to learn how to use a camera; I knew I would have to learn how to edit footage, and I knew there were things I would have to learn that I didn’t even know existed yet. But guess what, I was not starting from scratch. Only 6 months after starting my YouTube channel, I was able to say goodbye to the job that was draining me and walked out those doors for the last time. This time, I was onto better things.

Changing careers is not as scary as we make it seem. Sure, a new career might mean a different pay, a new environment, or even a new location, but who says they won’t make improvements to your life? The average person changes careers 5–7 times in their working life. Your next switch could be the one you’ve been searching for. You won’t be starting from zero, even if it feels like it.

At one point, I had almost convinced myself that disliking my job was just a part of life. This was why we all loved weekends and hated Mondays because work sucks, right? I didn’t know if it was worth “risking it all” to test out another career that may not even be any better. When I took a step back and looked at what the risks actually were, compared to what the potential outcome could be (my happiness and sanity) it was an easy decision to take the leap.

Now, Mondays are just another day because work is not something I hate. There are similarities between every single industry. You are not stuck, it is not impossible, and you will not start from zero.