If You Could Have Your Dream Job...

A few months ago, a new acquaintance sparked conversation by asking, "So what would your dream job be?" The first thought that popped in my mind was- "What a great networking question...this girl knows how to open someone up." My second thought was- "I have NO EARTHLY CLUE."

I made up something about volunteering for a living and being a perpetual intern to tide her over in the moment, but the thought kept resonating in my head, "What would I do?"

A few days ago, I met with an old friend who is a top-notch career counselor. In conversation, she asked me, "If money, education, location, etc. were of no matter, describe the perfect job. What would get you out of bed excited every morning?"

Sheesh! That is twice the topic had come up in the span of a few months. Could I really b/s another answer without really figuring this out? Sure...

So I did, and it worked for the moment, but the fact of the matter is, this question comes up because it is important. Not just, "You better have an answer important," but truly "You are only hurting yourself if you don't take the time to think this though!"

How can any of us continue on our career paths when we don't really know what we are working towards? How can we decide how to prioritize tasks or fill free time when we don't understand what we're passionate about?

This all leads me to say this for all you Type A people out there. Sometimes we lose focus of the big picture. Sometimes the details are so fun and marking them off our to do list is so enticing that we forget to step back and dream. After all, if we don't dream about that perfect job every once in while, how could it ever become a reality?