I don't know what I want, do you?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Know what YOU want that is? How do you make decisions, are you an “any way the wind blows” kind of person, or are you the sort that has an ironclad plan, and beware those that pose even the slightest obstacle?

Part of what made me think of this is that for the last 6 months I’ve been fully expecting to lose my job. We kept getting work so it kept lasting longer than I’d thought, but now our contract truly is coming to an end, and I’ve been getting serious about sending out resumes. I was thinking “well, I’ve probably got about a month left before the last of our work dries up” (even though the actual contract doesn’t end until a bit further down the line, there is very little project work left).

So out of the blue, my main boss calls from across the country and she says "hey, do you want to transfer to [Place I like and have been to]? My answer to her (with very little thought) was “do I get a move assistance check”? And when the answer to that was yes and an amount that would allow me to make the move, it was “Hell YES I’ll go”.

I guess the “with very little thought” part isn’t really true. Although Seattle was a great “jumping off place” WRT moving from Alaska to the states, I’ve never been really at home here, or cared for it all that much. I don’t exactly hate it, but I know what “I like a place” feels like and this ain’t it. So I have been sending out resumes (to my former company in another city I am pretty sure I’d like for instance).

The other part is, this is pretty much how I live my life. I’m very adaptable and pretty casual about most stuff, not a lot (major stuff) bothers me. So a lot of the direction I’ve taken in my life has been the result of someone or something posing a “hey, what about this, could you do this”? kind of thing and me saying “sure, I’ll give it a try”. I just never really have some carved in stone plan that I follow.

Now that’s NOT to say that once I got into something I don’t give it 100% work and dedication-wise, just at the outset, I tend to not have things I already KNOW and simply MUST DO (if that makes sense). So far, it’s sent me to some really interesting places in life.

So anyway, how do most of you make these sorts of decisions?

2

I’m the same way. I don’t know if it’s always worked out the best for me. I’m kind of envious of those people who seem to have a plan and a direction, whether they achieve them or not. I’ve been to a lot of interesting places in my life, and done a few fascinating things. I just wish I knew what the next one was going to be.

Canvas, how far south of the Emerald City are you? I grew up and went to school out there; moved east when the company I was working for got bought and I got an offer to move with it.

3

Most every time I’ve known exactly what I want, down to the details, I’ve found it difficult to achieve. When I leave room for serendipity I’ve found that I can throw the word failure out of my vocabulary. Every change I make becomes instead a learning experience.

I say that with a degree of humor. And it works for me. I’ve noticed that when what I fear the most in trying something new actually happens I manage just fine to make my way through it and every time I do gives me some new skills and added courage to try the next new thing.

It took me a couple of decades to get to this point. What do they say about life being a journey and not a destination?

4

I’ll have the fish.

Oh wait, that’s not what you meant.

I can be very stubborn about big life-changing ideas, and very open about smaller day-to-day or week-to-week stuff. But there are a few big things that I’d say yes to with barely a thought, because they’re quietly what I think of as “what I wish my life was”.

5

I know what I want, I know what’s important to me, I know what I can’t stand.

I keep having to make similar decisions, because of the way my job works. I’m self-employed (so, I can say “no” to projects); in Spain my line of consulting is divided into three geographical areas (Madrid, Barcelona, rest of the world) and I work “rest of the world”, but I know which locations I’m interested in going to, which am I willing to go to, and which hell to the no. I also know which kinds of tasks/jobs I like, which I can do but don’t like, which I hate with the fury of a million scorned women.

Basically I have a sort of mental checklist that I can run through real fast. That checklist has changed with time, experience and circumstances: for example, before the Grandfather From Hell died I wouldn’t take jobs in the Barcelona area, now I’m happy to.

6

I really like Tethered Kite’s philosophy. Here’s what I’ve learned: Problems became Obstacles. Obstacles became Challenges. Challenges became Oportunities. It really is all a chance to learn and experience.

Canvas I don’t think you acted impulsively because you were already thinking along those lines. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and you took it. You aren’t forcing your will on the Universe, just taking what it’s offering you.

Hopefully the “somewhere else” is sunnier. :cool: