Figuring out what’s next: it’s something we all face at various stages in our career, and our life really. In our careers, seasons of change are often centered around what type of work we want to do next. This might be due to a recent lay off, a return to the workplace after caring for family, our own desire to do something more fulfilling or maybe to retire, but not like, alllll the way retire.

Whether we’re in a transition of our own making or it’s been forced upon us, the decisions we need to make during a transition can feel overwhelming. We want our what’s next to be better, special, meaningful. Change isn’t easy – we want what’s on the other side of it to be feel like it was worth it. So how can we choose, or maybe even create, a what’s next that’s worthwhile?

Career Strategy Core Concepts

If you’ve been hanging around me for a while, you likely know the keys to creating the impact we crave are knowing our ​strengths,​ ​values​ and ​purpose​. Check out those articles if you’d like a refresher or a primer to those keys.

For this article, let’s look at how we can discern where to put our energies, how to even decide what type of work or contributions we might find worthwhile. Once we get a feel for our strengths, values and purpose – then what? How do we explore what to do with them?

Chasing Career Choices

I’ve seen this phase of career and personal development – deciding what to do next – phrased a lot of different ways in the industry, books and studies.

Some call this “following our passion.” This can feel a bit intimidating though for people who may not feel particularly “passionate” about any one, or maybe two, thing(s).

For instance, whenever I watch documentaries, I always admire the experts who get interviewed – those people who spend an entire career going really deep into a particular subject (who knew there was enough meat on the bone to study the gardening habits of 12th century French working class). When I was searching for my “what’s next” I was so jealous of those experts and anyone else who had a passion they could follow. I had interests in a lot of areas, but not one which felt like it was worthy of pursuing?

I’ve also seen this referred to as looking for our own cattle trails. If you’ve ever noticed those paths livestock seem to follow over and over again in a wide-open pasture – those are the cattle trails referenced – those paths we naturally follow even without thinking about it.

Yet as colorful as these phrases can be, there does seem to be an underlying theme of curiosity. And that, my friends, seems way more approachable than “passion.”

Cultivate Curiosity

The importance of following our natural curiosity comes into play as a motivator, as a source of energy. There’s something in us which is already activated by this particular topic, theme or talent. We get energized by figuring this thing out, learning more, putting what we do know into play. Sometimes we’re so energized and consumed by it, we may loose track of time and not even realize we’re actually moving forward and making progress. We might be in that flow state or genius zone. Why not tap into that energizing activation and even refine it?

Some of us might already have areas we can identify as captivating – they show up as hobbies or causes we support or a specific subject matter we keep researching or even as a particular way we interact with others.

But some of us might not have had the opportunities to create our own cattle trails, especially if our jobs or our family responsibilities have taken so much of our energy that all we feel like doing is rest & recovering.

For those who may not have any current curiosities, think about the sparks you feel as your move through your day, your week. Even the tiniest spark can provide clues. Look for those moments when you feel your eyebrows raise or you mutter an inquisitive “um” or you feel the urge to google some random phrase.

Those tiny threads are worth pulling. Tug on one or two and see where they lead you.

Explore & Experiment

As you start to cultivate your curiosities, look for ways to explore how they match up to your strengths, values and purpose. If these key aspects are coming from your truest self, they all should feel really aligned and natural. In fact, they might feel so natural that they don’t feel like anything ‘special.’ You’ve been doing these without thinking about it too much, yet other people find your approach admirable.

This is a great time to experiment with taking these key aspects into various roles, jobs, or volunteer opportunities.

Are you curious about how things work? Explore and experiment with engineering. Chat with current engineers, join a local maker’s group, go to a few meetings of a professional association (they love having visitors!).

Are you curious about cooking? Explore and experiment! Talk to chefs who work at restaurants, volunteer at food pantry, put on free classes for creating healthier low-cost meals.

Curious about how people relate to each other? Explore and experiment with human resources, relationship support, even group dynamics at events like networking coffees and conferences might be an opportunity to lean into your curiosity, apply your strengths, and align your values.

You’re What’s Next

While you might find a typo or two in this article, that heading isn’t one of them. YOU are what’s next. Get to know YOU. Take time for self-reflection, have deep conversations with a few loved ones who will be honest with you, get a coach (I happen to know of one btw), do what it takes to understand you. The more you know about who you are – what lights you up, your curiosities, along with your strengths, values and purpose – the more your what’s next will be worthwhile.

If you’d like to learn how to leverage your experience for what’s next, check out my small group workshop! It’s a cozy small group where we learn important tools to discover options and opportunities, learn from others going through similar situations and leave with more confidence and clarity.

If you’d like more personal attention, check out my 1:1 coaching package Meaning Momentum.