Why is it hard to know whether different work would suit me?
Enjoyment involves more than the work itself.
When I explore this with coaching clients, I look at how the work aligns with who they are and what they want from life. I also look at the context they are doing it in.
Work you would not choose for yourself can become more tolerable in a supportive environment. Work that interests you deeply can still be difficult to enjoy under an abusive boss or within a toxic workplace.
That’s why the real answer to whether you can tell if you’d enjoy a different type of work is… well… we do not know yet.
You might have a strong feeling about a different kind of work. You might see someone doing it and think, “I would love that.” It’s a good signal and one I’d tell my clients to incrementally explore.
As I covered in the article on why the same job can feel different at another company, the conditions surrounding the work can change how it feels.
The uncertainty is the very reason we want to explore it.
What if I approached career exploration as play?
When you are considering a career change or adding a new competency to your craft, I think there is value in approaching it with a sense of play.
A sense of wonder.
A sense of fun!
Think about a child discovering a new toy. They don’t have to understand every part of how it works before becoming curious. They pick it up, try something, and see what happens.
There is room for some of that openness in how we explore our craft.
You can be interested in something without already knowing where it belongs. You can follow a question without knowing whether it will become your next job. You can try to connect two things simply because the possibility makes you curious.
Career decisions have real consequences, but an exploration does not have to begin with a major decision. It can begin with giving yourself permission to find something interesting.
And permission is an interesting word there isn’t it… because sometimes we will command ourselves to do all sorts of weird and wonky things to satisfy our employer. But permission to explore our own career and craft with a sense of whimsy and wonder? Not allowed…
But it is!
Where should I start looking for clues?
I would start with what you enjoy.
If you have completed the knowledge, skill, and enjoyment assessment, look at the areas you rated highly for enjoyment. Include both the work you know you like and the work you suspect you might like, while keeping that distinction clear.
Those are among the most useful signals I look at when helping someone explore their craft.
Then widen the picture beyond your profession.
What do you love doing outside work? What activities pull you in? What are you happy to spend time thinking about, practicing, or learning?
It could be playing video games, crocheting, rollerblading, or bowling. It doesn’t need to sound impressive or have an obvious professional application.
One of my favorite questions to play with is:
What is the most seemingly absurd thing I enjoy, and how could it connect with the work I do?
How could an unrelated hobby connect with my profession?
Try making the connection before deciding it is too far-fetched.
Choose something you enjoy outside work that seems to have nothing to do with your profession. Then write a short article or record a video explaining two things:
- How does this interest relate to your profession?
- How might it help you do your work better?
You can keep it private (but I actually encourage you to openly share it, go ahead, be bold and publish it as a post on LinkedIn). The meaningful thing that matters is trying to make that connection.
Go beyond naming the hobby. Explore what you enjoy about it.
For example, if you enjoy crocheting, is it following a pattern, experimenting with techniques, noticing where something has gone wrong, or turning an idea into a finished object? Those are different sources of enjoyment, and each could suggest a different connection with professional work.
That is a hypothetical example, but the question underneath it is the same: what is happening within this activity that draws you in?
Then look at your work. Where does that same quality appear? Where could it appear? Does it influence how you solve a problem, organize an activity, understand people, or approach a challenge?
At first, the connection might feel strange. Let it be strange long enough to explore it.
You are developing a possible explanation for what interests you. As you get closer to the actual work, you can see whether that explanation holds up.
What do these connections reveal about your craft?
I ask coaching clients about their hobbies and interests because understanding their career requires a fuller picture of who they are.
In my work with clients so far, I have consistently found connections between the things they are drawn to outside work and the parts of their careers they have most enjoyed.
The activities can look completely different on the surface. But when we explore why they enjoy them, similar patterns emerge.
Often, they have never made that connection themselves. They were simply moving through the world, gravitating toward things that interested them.
Making the connection visible gives us something to explore more intentionally.
It can help explain why an unfamiliar competency appeals to you, or why two seemingly unrelated experiences belong together in your approach to work. That combination may become part of what makes your craft distinct.
You still do not have a guarantee that you will enjoy a particular role or environment. What you have is a more personal, specific reason to investigate it.
Keep an explorer’s mind. Some of the connections worth following may be the ones you would have dismissed before giving yourself permission to play.
