How to Find a Job That Makes You Happy (Without Starting From Scratch)

Quick question: If money wasn't an object, what would you do for a career?

What was your gut reaction, initial, no-overthinking response? Is it worlds apart from what you do now? Or is it being the "bomb ass boss" at your current gig?

What is it you want to do with your career, really?

I know, I know. Easier asked than answered.

Or just maybe, deep down you know the answer, but you're afraid of the answer or you have no idea how to move forward.

You might be sitting at your desk, asking "Is this it?" "Is this the best career for me?" "Because I'm not super happy and sort of want to strangle my cubicle-mate." Even if your cubicle mate is your actual mate because, work from home.

First off, slowly back away from your desk and realize that you're going to need to get real with yourself if you want a meaningful career, including a job that will make you happy.

Where Happiness at Work Actually Comes From

Job satisfaction is comprised of a lot of factors, but for you to be truly happy at work, you need to focus on yourself. Your personal connection to the work is where the happiness comes from.

Here's what I learned through two major career changes of my own: I used to be a professor. Yup. I taught courses like "The History of Creativity." That's totally a thing. Did you know that was a thing? I LOVED being a professor. But I also loved paying the rent. I'm not sure if you know this, but academia isn't exactly a cash cow.

I finally hit a breaking point financially and was forced to reconsider and reevaluate.

I tried out a few things, but nothing felt right.

I knew I wanted to continue educating and helping people find their thing. I knew I liked helping students figure their own stuff out. It was when I finally worked with a career coach that it became clear.

I specifically wanted to help people with their own career development and growth. It makes sense, right? Teaching college is helping students figure out what careers and futures they're interested in. Career development is the next logical step. Career development just made all sorts of sense.

Cool, but knowing what I wanted to be was only part of it. I had to figure out how to make my teaching skills make sense in corporate-land.

I made my way back to advertising and marketing, where I had worked until grad school. I dabbled in several roles until I found my footing in creative staffing. It's truly a mix of recruiting, management, learning and development, and a healthy dose of career coaching.

In my years of staffing candidates and coaching clients, as well as finding my own sweet spot, I've learned that finding a fulfilling career requires getting honest with yourself. Really honest.

The Power of Asking "Why?" Five Times

In order to find a job that makes you happy, you need to ask yourself ONE tough question, five times. Seriously.

This technique, borrowed from root cause analysis, helps you dig past surface-level complaints to understand what you actually need.

Step 1: If you are not currently happy at your job, ask WHY.

This is where you get to leave the stuff you don't like behind you. It goes like this:

"I don't like my job because I hate my boss." WHY do I hate my boss? "She's demanding." WHY is she demanding? "She acts like I don't know how to do my job." WHY does she act like that? "She is stressed all the time." WHY? "There are only two of us to do all the work." WHY? "It's a small company."

Based on all that, you may need to find yourself a larger company that allows you some trust and autonomy to do your job. Once you do this for the multitude of reasons you're currently unhappy, a picture should start to emerge of the type of job, company, and environment that will allow you a bit more job satisfaction.

Step 2: Ask WHY you want to work (other than a paycheck)

We all need to pay the landlord, but other than that, WHY do you want to work?

For example: "I want to have a sense of purpose." WHY? "I want to feel fulfilled at work." WHY? "I need to know that what I do matters." WHY? "Because otherwise, I'm just wasting my life." WHY? "Unless you're doing good, there's no point to it." WHY? "Doing good is the whole purpose of life."

You might need to find yourself a job or company that gives back in a big way. This may mean a gig in a small nonprofit, a massive corporation with a charitable foundation you can work for, or a midsize company with lots of volunteer days.

Step 3: What abilities, interests, and skills make you feel good, strong, and engaged?

Keep in mind that just because you're good at something, you don't have to do it for a living. I mean, I'm great at laundry, but I'm not about to open a dry cleaners.

So, what interests and skills do you have?

"I'm interested in art." WHY? "It's amazing to see all the ways someone can express themselves." WHY? "It really shows just how unique we all are."

Anything else?

"I'm good at organization." WHY? "I just get how to keep things straight so they're easily accessed." WHY? "My brain just sees things in a logical, mathematical way."

Who knows, maybe an operations position in an art gallery would knock your socks off. Maybe a solo business where you organize closets and show people how to dress creatively with items they already own could be your jam.

Step 4: How do you work best?

Under what conditions do you work best? Do you have a boss and are part of a team, or are you a solo-preneur? Do you go to an office, work from home, or the beach? How many hours do you put in and how much money are you making? Basically, how do you want to live life? WHY?

"I prefer to work in an air-conditioned office downtown." WHY? "I like the structure of having somewhere to go." WHY? "Otherwise I'd never put on pants." WHY? "I really like being at home, on my couch, with my dog and being comfortable, so going to an office makes me act like a real human." WHY? "Because I'd happily work in my underwear with Judge Judy on for background noise while eating PB&J every day if I didn't have to get dressed." WHY? "Because that's what makes me happy!"

Just saying, maybe you really do want a gig that lets you telecommute. Just put on a decent shirt for those Zooms, okay?

Step 5: So what?

This is where it all comes together. Go back through your answers to steps one through four and pull out what feels the MOST important to you. Now hit those with WHY.

I want to work part-time: WHY? So you can surf in the mornings? Awesome, brah. I prefer to work on my own: WHY? So you can be in charge? Get it, girl. I love the social media aspects of my job: WHY? It's engaging and fun. You betcha. I want to help women and folks with my work: WHY? The gender wage gap needs to go. Amen.

How does a remote social media strategist for small businesses sound? Boom. Done. Now go find yourself some true career happiness.

The Four Steps to Making It Happen

It really is about digging deep and being honest with yourself. I know you can do it. But once you know what you want, you need a plan to get there.

1. Start with Yourself

Outside of societal and family pressures, you need to acknowledge who you are and what you truly want. What your values, likes, and priorities are.

This doesn't have to be daunting. It can be as simple as sitting down with a pen and a notebook and really asking yourself what you want from life and how that reflects what's important to you.

Use the five-why technique above. Journal. Make lists. Talk to yourself out loud if that helps. The point is to get brutally honest about what you actually need to be happy, not what you think you should need.

2. Reach Out

Now that you've had a nice conversation with yourself, it's time to chat with other people. Especially people in your network.

Your network is a goldmine.

Want to know what it would be really like to be a preschool teacher or graphic artist? Reach out and ask. Someone you know is connected to everyone you want to talk to.

Use LinkedIn, email, your alumni association, your hair stylist's sister. Reach out and ask to take them for coffee or set up more formal informational meetings.

Everyone's favorite topic is themselves, so don't be afraid to politely ask. Most people are genuinely happy to help someone who's thoughtfully exploring career options.

3. Do the Work

Shadow, volunteer, and do freelance projects if at all possible. Even a few hours a month can give you real insight into a new role and lead to a vast network of connections.

If you're already working three jobs and just can't make the time commitment work, try squeezing in an e-course, webinar, or nighttime reading that is relevant to your career goal.

The point is to test your hypotheses. You think you'd love being a graphic designer? Great. Do a project or two. You might discover you love it, or you might realize you actually prefer the strategy side of creative work. Both discoveries are valuable.

4. Sell Yourself

Now that you know who you are, who you want to be, and what work you want to do, it's time to sell yourself.

You really only need three things to effectively market yourself into the job you want:

• LinkedIn profile (recruiters live and die by it)

• Portfolio/Website (no matter what your line is)

• Resume (yes, still)

Whether you are a career changer, freelance maven, corporate rockstar, or newbie grad, you need sales collateral. Yup, it's true. That's exactly what these things are, and if used correctly, they can do most of the job hunt work you hate doing.

If you've got all three of these buttoned up, recruiters will call you. For the rest of you, you need to get set up to sell yourself ASAP.

Building Your Sales Packet

Where do you start? With your story.

Before you slap together a profile, format a Google doc, or whip up a website, you need to start with a clear story of who you are, where you want to be, and why you want to be there. Most people treat their resumes as a list of past job descriptions. What you should be doing is using them to tell your story. To outline why you're the perfect fit for that bigger, better job.

Gather a list of five to 10 bullet points that highlight your unique value, impressive stats, and skills you want to build on. Use these "Story Bullets" to build out your summary, job history, and "about me" pages. Your LinkedIn, resume, and website need to be cohesive and work together. Using the same wording for your summaries on each will not only save you time but help you form your personal sales pitch.

Look at your bullets and focus on the ones that a recruiter hiring for the "next big gig" you want would be searching for. Don't focus on the job you want out of. Show that you're right for the next level up.

For example, Jack, of Beanstalk fame, might have the following bullets:

• Co-Founder of Giant Slayers Inc, which sold for 45 million farthings

• Deep understanding of the gold-egg market

• 62 percent rise in used-cow sales within two years

• First to market with singing harp services app

These could be summarized as: "I'm a marketer with six years of in-depth experience in multiple markets including golden eggs, harps, and cows. My experience in multi-channel campaigns, campaign management, and technology development has given me unique insight into the giant-slaying arena."

Now, for his job history sections, Jack should list his absolute best or biggest accomplishment, or story bullet, as his first. Again, highlight the skills and accomplishments that will appeal to the hiring manager you're gunning for. Don't just rewrite your current job description.

A portfolio for creatives is a 100 percent must, but it can be invaluable to all types of professions.

What's the first rule of story writing? Show, don't tell. Well, a website lets you show, not tell, your skills. For many people, building a website feels intimidating, but it can be a simple templated site hosted on a free or low-cost service.

Your Bare Basics Checklist

LinkedIn:

• Photo

• Summary

• Contact info

• Job history with key bullets featured

• Skills listed

Portfolio/Website:

• Photo

• Summary

• Contact info

• Links to social accounts

• Links to relevant content: blogs, creative works, case studies

• Link to resume

Resume:

• Summary

• Contact info

• Job history focusing on key bullets but with more complete skills and accomplishments listed

• Skills section highlighting those most useful for the job you are going after

Making It Strategic

Three emails sent to viable network connections are worth 50 resumes sent out into the internet void.

Do your research and tailor each application, cover letter, and email to that specific person, for that specific role, that you are specifically interested in and fit for.

This whole process can take days, weeks, or even months. Go at your speed and try not to play the comparison game. Who cares if your younger cousin appears more successful than you. You don't know her life.

Eyes on your own paper, butt in your own lane.

Focus on you and your path.

The Bottom Line

Finding a job that makes you happy isn't about chasing some vague passion or settling for misery because you think you're stuck. It's about getting honest with yourself through deep questioning, understanding what you actually need to thrive, and then strategically positioning yourself for the work that aligns with those needs.

Start with the five whys. Figure out what you actually want, not what you think you should want. Then reach out, do the work, and sell yourself effectively.

You don't need to start from scratch. You just need to understand yourself better and communicate your value more clearly.

Now go get 'em, tiger.

Yours in you really can find work that makes you happy goodness,

EBS

Stop Following Your Passion: Why Finding Your Thing Is Better (And How I Learned This the Hard Way)

No, you shouldn't "follow your passion." I'm serious. This idea that you should find, then blindly follow, your "passion" is overwhelming and ultimately unhelpful.

Finding Your Passion looms large. Finding Your Thing is the way to go.

You know that feeling you've got right now? That "totally lost, I'm stuck, what am I even supposed to do with my career, can't someone just tell me what I'm supposed to be doing" feeling? Man, it sucks, doesn't it?

I know that feeling intimately. But what you've been told, this idea that you "just" need to find your passion, it's not a reasonable goal. And I learned this through two brutal career changes that nearly broke me before they remade me.

Why "Follow Your Passion" Sets You Up to Fail

I've been through two major career changes of my own and I've spent years helping clients figure out what their thing is. The reason I don't say "follow your passion" is because there's too much pressure behind Passion, the idea that it has to be the end all, be all.

But finding your thing? There's way less baggage attached to it. Fewer external and internal expectations weighing you down.

You're going to Find Your Thing, the thing that fulfills you and gives meaning to your life not because it's your one all-consuming passion, but because it supports your interests, talents, and values. It allows you to be the most you.

Just think about these two simple statements:

"Carol left her corporate job to follow her passion of Pet Care Marketing."

"Carol's thing is Pet Care Marketing."

It's all psychological, but it's an important distinction.

The expectation with "passion" is that it's so burning and all-consuming that there's nothing else of meaning for Carol, and it may not even be something she's good at. She's just obsessed with it.

However, it being her Thing? That indicates that she's good at it, she enjoys it, and she knows what she's doing. It's clearer, more concise, more concrete. It's actually MORE Carol.

And you can be more you too.

My Story: From Dream Job to Devastation to Discovery

Let me tell you how I learned this lesson. Name a job and I've probably done it: housekeeper, bartender, executive assistant, retail, marketing assistant, private caterer, lifeguard, swim instructor, vintage reseller, construction coordinator with a hot pink hard hat, and many, many others.

Many of these I held simultaneously while working my way through college, then grad school, and then in pursuit of my dream career: College Professor.

Making it through school, working any combination of jobs, and getting into a teaching position wasn't easy. But it was my dream job. And I worked incredibly hard to get it.

I spent the next 12 years as a Humanities Professor at several fantastic colleges in the Bay Area, teaching courses like "The History of Creativity" and "Values and Culture." I loved my job. Capital L Love.

As I'm sure you know, education and academia isn't exactly a cash cow, but I really did love my job, like REALLY loved it, so I scrimped, saved, and worked those weird little jobs in the cracks between classes to make ends meet.

Then I got divorced. In San Francisco. One of the most notoriously expensive cities on the planet. And things changed.

Let me say it again: I LOVED teaching. But I also now had to pay the rent all on my own. Due to the recession and with education budgets being what they are, I found my course load shrinking year after year.

I finally hit a breaking point financially and was forced to reconsider and reevaluate. It all came to a head when my options were: move across the country for a tenure track position and still struggle financially, only now far from home and family, OR find a new career.

How did I feel about my options? I was devastated. It was like a long-term, "this is it forever" romantic relationship ending. It took me months of soul searching and not a few tears to get to a place where I could even acknowledge that there really were other doors. Wide open doors.

The Breakup I Couldn't Accept

While intellectually I knew I had to make a career change, I just couldn't give up a job that I loved so much it had been the basis of much of my identity. I was a teacher.

I made my way back to advertising and marketing, where I had worked before grad school, as I struggled to keep teaching by holding on to one or two night classes. I dabbled in several roles and took a series of jobs that I knew I would hate, which I looked at as a good thing because I thought I could somehow still make teaching viable. Any other job would "just" be a day job that I could leave when I finally found a way to make teaching work.

It was like booty calling my ex-career.

After two, yes TWO, years of drunkenly texting my ex-career, I finally had "the talk" with myself that someone always has to have with you after a breakup. The "IT'S OVER, MOVE ON" talk. The hard truth that your bestie gives you. But unlike a true breakup, nobody was telling me they "never really liked my career anyway." Nobody understood that I was grieving. Forget bringing over ice cream to help me get through it.

After the talk with myself, I knew the era of the "day job" was over. I needed a new career, for real. I decided to do what I needed to do to figure out what it was, while keeping one class a semester to get my teaching fix in.

In the search for "The One," I took ALL the quizzes, filled out all the workbooks, took all the workshops. In essence, I online dated the crap out of my career.

After a while, I became convinced I'd be a sad, lonely, old career cat lady.

The Magic Isn't in Finding Your Passion

I tried working with a few career coaches in the hopes that they would magically tell me what I should do with my life. Spoiler alert: it totally doesn't work that way.

It took working with a coach who specialized in career changes to come to the certainty that I wanted to continue educating and helping people find their thing.

I knew I liked helping students figure their own stuff out, but I had NO IDEA what form that would or should take in a career. All signs were pointing toward "Coach," but I absolutely did not want to be a coach. That I knew. At the time, there was still generally a stigma around coaching. The common perception was that there were only two versions: executive coaching for the uber high-level or woo-woo life coaching for the L.A. based.

I wasn't up for either. But educating people on how to navigate their careers? I knew I wanted to do that. Cool, but knowing what I wanted to be was only part of it. I had to figure out how to make my teacher skills make sense in corporate-land.

I searched and searched for a job opening that fit the bill, but NOTHING seemed right, and man, did I do some epic wallowing. Then a former coworker who had moved on to another company reached out. She knew I was miserable in my current relationship, uh, day job. She wanted to introduce me to a new job. A new job that she knew I would rock. A job that played on all my strengths. A job where I got to teach people how to work together and help them develop their careers.

Isn't that always the way? A friend of a friend introduces you to the right thing.

That role where I found my footing was creative management and staffing. It's truly a mix of recruiting, management, learning and development, and a healthy dose of career coaching.

I racked up almost 10 years of experience in creative recruiting and staffing. Was it "love" the way I loved teaching? Not quite. You only get one first love. But I really dug my gig and it made sense. Teaching college is helping students figure out what careers and futures they're interested in. Career development was the next logical step.

I enjoyed the recruiting aspect of the job because I loved helping people get the jobs they were lusting after. The one that made them SO. FREAKING. STOKED. But through this career, it became clear to me that I loved, and always had, helping people find their thing.

The part of my job I especially loved was directly helping women with their career development. However, it was only a small part of my day-to-day work.

Career coaching suddenly just made all sorts of sense.

Finding My Thing (Finally)

I knew it was time for career change number two. It took another two-plus years for it to all come to fruition, and it wasn't an easy or even a direct path. But now I'm currently teaching others how to find fulfillment in their own careers, and there's no way I could be where I am without the heartbreak of having to give up being a professor.

I am in love with my job in a whole new way, and I can't imagine not being a coach. Life's funny that way, huh?

Now I can proudly say: my name's EB. I'm a certified career coach who spends her time showing creative types how to leave the fear behind and find their thing so they can achieve the fulfillment they really want.

What I Learned: The Truth About Finding Your Thing

Here's what two devastating career changes taught me: the answer is most likely right in front of you. But you can't see it when you're desperately trying to follow some mythical "passion."

It doesn't take months of going back to school, years of trial and error, or even days of pulling your hair out to Find Your Thing. You just need to be prepared to dig really deep.

It all starts with looking inside, taking stock, and being honest with yourself.

This process can be overwhelming in the best way because you will go from "I have no options, I have no idea where to start" to an overabundance of options and opportunities.

It doesn't take years of effort, but there's also no magic wand. You have to do the work, the introspection, the deciding of just what it is that lights your fire.

Yes, you could pick something out of thin air or have someone tell you what you should do, and you could absolutely do one of those. But it will never be as fulfilling as coming to the decisions on your own and working through why you want to do that particular thing.

What "Your Thing" Actually Means

Finding your thing is what creates a meaningful, fulfilling career. If "meaningful" to you is helping a nonprofit that cares for orphans, awesome. If fulfillment means traveling 70 percent of the time and letting your partner handle the homestead, fantastic. But it needs to be meaningful to you.

Only you can know what's right for you, and I promise the process becomes easier and way more fun when you ditch the concept of "passion" and focus on finding your Thing.

Maybe you have a job but you're unfulfilled. Or you're climbing the monetary ladder, but your gig isn't in line with what you see yourself being happy doing long term. Did you get laid off recently and decide this is the perfect opportunity to do something you actually want to do? Maybe you're looking to switch careers but have no idea which direction to turn, and everyone is telling you to "follow your passion," but you have no freaking idea what that might be.

No matter what your situation, let me guess: you feel stuck, frustrated, lost, and you're freaking out to varying degrees.

Don't fret. I'm here with good news.

The Work Is Worth It

When you show up in the world as your most you, you are a better person, partner, employee, business owner, parent, and community member.

Look, I understand the feeling. You just want someone to hand you a piece of paper that says you're amazing at these five things, you should go be a fill-in-the-blank with a random career, and have a huge lightning bolt moment of "YES, THAT'S IT! I JUST NEVER REALIZED IT BEFORE!"

I hate to tell you, but that's not how it works.

Often what we are told we are supposed to want, or feel that logically we "need" to do in our careers veers far from what actually makes us happy, whole individuals.

Only when you take the time to be honest, dig deep, and come to a genuine understanding of what makes you truly happy will you come to an understanding of what kind of career will be meaningful to you.

Again, the idea of what is "meaningful" work is different for literally every person on the planet. If "meaningful" to you is simply making enough money to never have to worry about ordering extra avocado, that's great. But you have to come to that conclusion on your own.

And it's worth it. It's worth the work to wake up excited about what you do. To feel genuinely fulfilled by engaging in meaningful actions. To create a career for yourself that makes you and those around you happier people. I promise.

Because here's what I know after teaching for 12 years, recruiting for nearly 10, and coaching for years: your thing is out there. Not your passion. Your thing. The work that makes sense for who you are, what you're good at, and what you value.

And when you find it? You won't need to "follow" it with blind devotion. You'll just show up as yourself and do the work. That's the difference. That's what makes it sustainable. That's what makes it yours.

So stop looking for your passion. Start finding your thing.

Yours in ‘you bet I’ve got bartending stories’ goodness,

EBS

—-

EB Sanders 

Career Coach for Creative Types

My Website | Free Stuff | Pinterest

Helping you figure out what you want to do and how to do it your way!

Finding Your Change: How to Get Inspired and Know What to Do Next

You're already feeling overwhelmed by all the inspiration quotes flooding your feed. And yet, somewhere deep down, you do feel like maybe, yeah, it is time for a change. You just have no idea what that change actually looks like.

Amen, friend. But how? And what?

Here's the thing: clarity about what needs to change doesn't usually come from external motivation or pressure. It comes from getting curious about yourself, paying attention to what actually excites you, and giving your brain permission to explore new patterns and possibilities. If you want to change something up but have no clue exactly what, here are four tried and true ways to get your creative thinking juices flowing and unlock the insights hiding beneath the surface.

Method #1: Get Out of Your Rut with Constraints and Scenery Changes

Everything from journaling five minutes in the morning to deciding to ditch the car and ride your bike to work for a month counts. Sometimes making any change in your daily routine opens you up to new thoughts and insights.

But here's the paradox: putting constraints on yourself actually makes you more creative, not less. It sounds strange, but limitations and boundaries force you to think about old things in completely new ways. Constraints create a problem-solving scenario and produce novelty by making you think differently.

Try limiting resources, time, or even your usual tools. If you always type your ideas, bust out a number-two pencil instead. The point isn't deprivation; it's inspiration. Think about Shakespeare's sonnets. They’re all about strict rules, strict structure, yet some of his most creative works emerged from those very constraints. What he did with those limitations? Wowza.

You can also create a literal change of scenery. Move your chair, go outside for a coffee, find a new meeting room, or take a walk. Take a new route to your coffee joint and check out storefronts or people's shoes. Observe your world in a way you haven't before. Even if actual movement isn't possible, change your screensaver, update your desktop, or put up a postcard of somewhere you dream about visiting. The visual inspirations you find can be genuinely game-changing.

Or try a change of scenery for your mind. Download a meditation app or grab a free guided one off of YouTube, find a quiet space, and meditate for just ten minutes. A shift in your mental landscape can have real, tangible impact on how you approach problems and see possibilities.

Method #2: Start an Inspiration Book and Look for Patterns

In my work with clients, there's one consistent exercise I have everyone do, no matter what outcome we're working toward. I ask them to keep an "Inspiration Book."

This can be an actual journal, a file on your phone, a Pinterest board, or even notes in your iPhone, the format doesn't matter. What matters is that you pay attention to what you're paying attention to.

Here's what you do: when you're out in the world and you see a piece of art, hear a song, come across interesting architecture, find a fascinating news article, or discover an amazing pair of shoes, write it down. Even if it seems tangential to "career development", clipping a recipe, learning about a new ingredient, taking a deep dive into your family history, these seemingly random clues offer insights in ways nothing else can.

Many clients are initially unsure how this helps. I give them no parameters. I simply ask them to pay attention and collect what catches their attention. The magic happens when you step back and look for patterns.

Here's what I've discovered working with hundreds of clients: patterns emerge that they had absolutely no awareness of.

One client worked in theoreticals all day long, but their inspiration book was filled to the brim with items that could only be created by human hands: mastercraft, handmade objects, skilled work. This client had a long, mostly suppressed desire to work with their hands. It came as a complete surprise-slash-complete no-brainer that they needed a career change to something where they could create physical objects.

Another client spent all day creating art, but what kept drawing their attention were things that were systematized, organized, and operational. She realized she no longer wanted to create art as a means to money. She wanted to do something lateral around art that included managing operations at a higher level. She evolved from "Creator" to "Operator" and discovered she enjoyed the business of art more than the creating of it.

Do this for one week to three months. Don't let it drag on forever. The key isn't just collecting; it's pulling out the patterns and allowing your brain to see what your subconscious already knows.

Method #3: Activate Your Creativity Through Constraints and Challenges

Even in the best of times, most jobs can feel automatic. If you're finding yourself feeling unengaged, on autopilot, and uninspired, there are creative ways to add energy back into your work.

One powerful method: brainstorm alternatives. You know those reports you run daily with one hand tied behind your back? Is there another way to do them? To make them more interesting to you at least? Brainstorm five different ways to complete your regular tasks. Even if you never implement them, the act of brainstorming alone kicks your brain into creative mode.

Set a daily creative challenge unrelated to your current work but possible during your workday. A seemingly small creative task can get your brain into a thoughtful, creative space (especially if it's miles away from your daily grind). Treat it as meditation, not goofing off.

Try 365 Post-it doodles. Write a haiku a day for a month. Create a new creative Pinterest board each day. Take a micro-class on daily creative project ideas. The goal is simply to get creative with your job, not just on your job.

You can also invoke the principle of asking "What would they do?" Choose someone who inspires you: Frida Kahlo, Jane Maise, Queen Bey, Ava DuVernay, or in my case, Dolly Parton (I just assume she has a way of getting things done with a rhinestone glue gun!). 

Display a postcard of your idol on your desk, keep a copy of that groundbreaking book by your favorite artist nearby, or post a print of your favorite photograph. Make a little shrine to the creativity deity of your choice. When you're feeling uninspired, ask yourself: "What would [your inspiration] do?" It's a surprisingly effective reframe.

You can also investigate the creativity of others. Follow podcasts, daily stories, cultural features, or images. Let the creativity of others help you look at yours in a new way. Or take a deep dive into someone completely outside your field. Are you a copywriter? Research a scientist whose work you've never explored. Get out of your creativity comfort zone.

Method #4: Reflect and Do Your Own Thing

It's time to look back at decisions you've made and actions you've put into play. Poke around at dreams you left by the wayside and goals you never made happen because life got in the way. Get really creative with both the data and your analysis of it. Focus not just on facts, but on your feelings about how things went down.

But here's the crucial part: do your own thing.

As long as you don't hurt anyone, go ahead and break some rules and expectations. Does your work crew always eat sad salads on Zoom together? Go for a walk and grab those amazing tacos from that tiny joint on Third Street. Eat them without judgment and enjoy that walk back.

Do you and your partner have a typical weeknight routine? Break out of your norm for one night and do something you'd normally only do on a weekend. Have you always wanted to try cosplay but never have because someone told you it was nerdy? Slap on that wig, grab your superhero outfit, and get that ticket to Comic-Con.

Do something that truly makes you happy, no matter what other people might think. Disregard judging eyes and you may just find the thing in your life that needs changing.

The Real Power of Exploration

After you've done the post-mortem of the past, move forward with some innovative ideas on what changes you can make to create a new future.

Maybe after all this creative exploration, just the act of letting your brain run wild is all you need. Maybe not. Maybe you found something you're genuinely excited to jump into and start changing. There is no "right" outcome. You do you.

But here's what often happens: as you start paying attention to your patterns, breaking your routine, getting creative, and doing what actually makes you happy, something becomes crystal clear. You start to see that what really needs to change isn't just a habit or a daily routine.

It's your work itself.

If Your Clarity Points to Career Change

If after doing a few of these exercises you realize what needs to change is what you do each and every day, then you're ready for the deeper work. You're ready to align your work with your actual values, clear your limiting beliefs about what's possible, and chart a new path forward.

When you create space for inspiration and start paying attention to what genuinely excites you, career insights often follow. You begin to see the patterns in what you're drawn to. You start recognizing what your subconscious has been trying to tell you all along.

That moment of clarity (when you realize something fundamental needs to shift) is powerful. And it usually doesn't come from external motivation or New Year's resolutions. It comes from getting curious, giving yourself permission to explore, and honestly looking at what makes you come alive.

So start with these four methods. Get out of your rut. Keep an inspiration book. Activate your creativity. Reflect and do your own thing.

See where it leads you. Your next change might be closer than you think.

Yours in ‘you got this’ goodness,

EBS

P.S. Yes, napping counts as doing a "new thing." Sometimes rest and permission to do nothing are exactly what your brain needs to process and create clarity.

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EB Sanders 

Career Coach for Creative Types

My Website | Free Stuff | Pinterest

Helping you figure out what you want to do and how to do it your way!