Work Reimagined post

Posted on the LinkedIn "Life Reimagined for Work: Make Your Next Act Your Best Yet" board

Joyce Li says (in part), "I've defined my destination"

I reply:
@Joyce Li - You've defined your destination? Good luck! I've accepted the idea that I will never have an actual destination... life is about the journey.

I saw a great cartoon a while ago: a little girl saying, "What do I want to be when I grow up? I hope I'll be something that hasn't been invented yet!"

Joyce replies, "Marion, yes, life is a journey and the process itself is exciting. The destination gives us a sense of direction. It took a few years of soul searching for me to discover my destination. I am a writer, singer and a teacher at heart. What I am doing every day is moving me closer to my final destination."

I reply to her:
Joyce, I think we all have the same final destination... nothing you do in this world will get you out of it alive. And if you imagine that you are working towards a single career which you can inhabit for the rest of your life, you have a pretty wild imagination. Life doesn't work that way.

I, too, am a writer, singer, and teacher. I'm also a stage directer - I loved that, and wish I could still do it. There are a number of other things I used to love - things I lived for; things I dreamed of doing throughout my life, growing and changing, teaching others as I learned new layers of skill and wisdom.

Remember, most adults can be referred to as "temporarily non-disabled." Unless you die in your prime, you will come to a time when what you now think of as your "destination" has become your past, and your hopes will become your memories.

I'm the victim of an incurable illness that causes progressive disability. A lot of things that I used to live for are no longer possible for me. So I have to explore new options.

I lucked out the last time I was unemployed: I had an attack bad enough that I was incapable of working, so I took a course, learned a new skill - and ended up spending over 10 years in a brand new career, something that didn't exist when I was in school, that I could do in spite of my progressive disability.

Now that job is over. I'm still shuffling the cards in my hand: Some I must discard, much as I'd love to play them, because I no longer have the strength. (e.g. I loved being a stage director, but my limited stamina closes that choice.) I'm also seeing what cards I'm lacking: What new skills can I learn that will give me a hand I can play? Or how can I re-think the cards I already have, to make them into a playable hand?

My self-definition is pretty wide these days: I've spent over 25 years finding creative solutions for unexpected challenges, and that's what I expect to spend the rest of my life doing.

Is that my "destination"? Perhaps.