I’ve been having a difficult time making some decisions. A few friends have been telling me what they thought about this for around a year now and I figured out what they were telling me nearly six months ago. My friends told me, I am good at too many things. I honestly, did not see it that way but I realize this is my reality now.
Decision-making is not an easy thing when throwing into the mix many different areas of passion. Trying to discover your path forward can seem daunting. Maybe you have experienced this problem for yourself. Perhaps you are reading this article right now, and you are saying to yourself, “I just don’t understand what’s so difficult about picking a direction and sticking with it!” If this is you, the article is probably not for you, but if you are having difficulty determining your future, stick with me, this will be a fun journey.
My history began with me working in fast-food when I was 17. Following and concurrent with fast-food came working in a hardware store. My friends who are reading this are probably scratching their heads to find out that I worked in a hardware store. I am not good at anything with tools. What I did learn in the hardware store was color schemes from working in the paint department. I learned what colors go well together (you’ll see more of this later).
The next portion of my life led me into office support work, and I continued to move up from there and even into design drafting. Following drafting, I went into full-time pastoring as a youth pastor and worship leader and had a season of being a teacher’s aid concurrently. While I was a youth pastor and worship leader, I began a print-brokerage, founding, and writing for Youth Pastor’s Unite and The Leadership Bulletin. During this time, I became a college professor, learned about leadership and the masters and doctoral level, wrote a devotional, recorded an album, and started a coaching and consulting business. Lastly, I became a special education teacher, while continuing as a professor, doing public speaking, leading worship, planting a church, studied for insurance licensing to own my own insurance business, and writing a leadership book (this will come out next year).
All of my experiences have led me to the here and now. My passions have been all over the place. I have done things out of necessity and out of passion. But what’s next?! I am full of confusion. There is conflict between what will pay the bills and what will make me happy. Some people decide to settle on either/or but I am not content until I do both. I am entrepreneurial. My passion church ministry while consulting to help others reach their potential. I am much better at helping others than I am myself quite honestly. Why are others’ decisions so much easier to see than my own? Maybe it’s because I feel trapped between desire and making money. I want the best of both worlds.
I am currently working with a coach to work through all of this. After all, we all need coaches in our lives to help us. One of the best things I have started doing is adding health coaching into the mix. I feel empowered when I help my clients begin to break their cycles through the exploration of new ideas and breaking down roadblocks. I loved helping my best friend create a development plan for his church. I have loved investigating and telling others what their businesses need to be successful. I love making presentations on topics, which will help improve organizational thought.
My point is, passion and paycheck can be the same. Maybe, while I am looking for a career path, I am only struggling because my career path is business creation. Maybe my entrepreneurial spirit must be fed and grown. Perhaps I need to forget traditional routes and do what my heart is telling me to do. Decision-making can be challenging, but should it be that difficult? If we live out our passions and desires, we can achieve our goals. I believe in others’ potential; maybe it’s time for me to believe in my potential and make things happen in a new way.
Recommendations for decision-making:
- Make sure to identify your decision
- Research to find information that contributes to making your decision
- Determine if there are any alternatives to your choices …are you becoming blinded by your interests?
- Get out of your way
- Do what you are passionate about
- Do not let others discourage you
- Never give up on yourself
- Choose a direction
- Take action
- Breathe
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