Overthinking and my existential career crisis

I'm having an existential career crisis.

I mean, aren't we all? Two years in a pandemic, at home with my sons, husband and my fourth child, my business Birk Creative almost put me under. Adding to that, being a Chicago Public School parent, the public schools were shut down for the longest period in the city's history, right before the pandemic even hit. From 2019-2022, what a albatross of poop.

But finally, I'm feeling like I can possibly emerge. But to what exactly? What I am I emerging into? I'm figuring it out.

What do I have to offer the world now? What can I bring to either my own endeavors and businesses? Or should I bring my magic to someone else and report to a 3rd party boss again?

I launched so many brands during the pandemic. By the way, everything I create I call a brand and so should you! Even if it was an article I wrote, or a piece of art I created, a thought of a new business that I wrote on a napkin, a conversation with a budding entrepreneur was a brand.

Yep. That's right. Everything I create is a brand to me. Even my thought.

All the things I do every day, I am wracking my brain to determine how to monetize them. What choice do I have now as I try to navigate this new world of wild anything is possible thinking raging like a climate-change forest fire inside my head?

We are not in the Age of Ultron, this is the Age of Entrepreneurship. More than ever. But it's beyond just plain ol' entrepreneurship, it's Creative Entrepreneurship. What does that mean you ask? Well, it means redefining what it means to be creative. Many of us associate creativity with painting, drawing, making music, throwing clay on a wheel, making stained glass, designing a dress. I disagree. The act of creation IS creativity. And that means, thought itself, is creativity.

Thoughts are original, never been thought before. I'm not talking OCD thoughts, those recurring kind that you can't get out of your head and they are on repeat living rent free in your brain. I'm talking about when you sit and think, those words strung together, each and every time are original, never been thought before. When you think you create, when you create, you are creative. Periodt.

Sometimes, I forget how creative I really am. I am inventing thoughts all the time, I am navigating my thoughts, and creating new ones depending on the outcome of my thought. External stimuli add texture and interest to my thoughts. These these come together to form something, And depending on my situation, I may execute on it.

But here's the catch, just because I may not execute that thing right now, or in the future, doesn't mean I haven't created something or that I am not creative!

I have officially banished the narrative that if I don't execute, then I am a failure, a loser, a never gonna make it, a "potential" that never won, or I sat in my basement, a mediocre woman with all kinds of ideas that failed to launch, and therefore, I am nurturing a hobby, not a life, and my tombstone will read "she had a dream and a vision but did nothing about it."

As I sit here, on my front porch, watching all the cars race by to get home from work, I am running through my head the list of things I can do and have done. And I wonder, all these years of being a Jane of all the trades, and a master of not a single stinking one, will I ever finally figure out what I am actually really great at? But the bigger question is, do I want to?

Last month, I got into a passive-aggressive public debate on a post with another LinkedIn-Er about overthinking. This person "mansplained " to me that my definition of overthinking was wrong and that I was overthinking overthinking. I was amazed that someone with their own supposed original thought could possibly believe that their definition of overthinking is the only definition, and that one person's thought which may be different than theirs, was incorrect. By the way, this person was not a man, but the word mansplaining is just such a perfect term to describe this type of action.

Here's a few I've been thinking about, that I am good at my soft skills:

• Executive presence ?
• Team builder - collaborative style ?
• Deep understanding of the IT industry ?
• Hunter mentality ?
• Provocative thinker ?
• Leader ?
• Professional writing skills ?
• Thrive in chaos, ambiguity and uncertainty ?
• Self-motivated ?
• History of a record of achievements ?
• History of working with top global systems integration partners like Accenture ?
• Business and technology thought leadership to be able to collaborate with development, marketing and field sales to shape and deliver partnership products and programs that supplement a brand's portfolio ?
• Ability to work collaboratively and inclusively with colleagues across a organization ?
• A strong focus on execution ?
• Ability to work on multiple technology platforms ?
• A fast and agile learner ?
• Start up thinking mentality ?
• Excellent executive presentation skills ?
• Holds self and other accountable for delivering shareholder value
• Creative, innovative and visionary ?
• Loves to build training and educational curriculum to enhance brand sentiment ?
• Fosters collaboration between leaders as well as driving a diverse and inclusive culture at every touchpoint ?
• Models authentic leadership across internal and external boundaries ?
• Builds a reputation as a strategic, thoughtful and inspirational leader ?
• Helps others see the magic in themselves and provides mentorship to ensure the success of individuals within an organization and also the customers externally ?
• Is inspired by complex challenges and loves nurturing client relationships ?
• Protects and enhances any brand publicly and privately, even when no one is watching ?

Who knows where my stream of consciousness writing on a Friday night will take me. I mean, I'm loving where I'm headed, destination unknown. But I'm gonna keep drowning in my thought and, why not find the f out .

But what do you really think? Are you creating or are you an overthinking? Leave a comment below, because I'm still fighting with that mansplainer all in my head.

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JinJa Birkenbeuel is a writer, podcaster, creative, brand strategist, professional speaker and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of?Birk Creative ?and digital coach and trainer for thought leaders, entrepreneurs and small business owners. She loves sharing what she knows with others and engaging in vibrant conversations with non-celebrity business owners and leaders who are killing it in the marketplace on her podcast platform?The Honest Field Guide . Listen in on most top-level podcast platforms like?Apple ,?Spotify ?and?Google Podcasts .

About Birk Creative

Birk Creative works with businesses as a plug-and-play brand strategy team or as a complement to existing creative and marketing capabilities. We deliver wraparound services across all advertising and marketing activities: Visual identity, branding, brand messaging, custom content creation, podcast/video/radio production, social media marketing, employee thought leadership training and development, and digital advertising.

Our in-house team and remote network include brand strategists, copywriters, social media marketers, podcast producers, book and publication publishers, graphic designers and web developers, illustrators, media buyers and a 10-person remote team.

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