If there’s anything we’ve painfully learned during the pandemic, it’s that nothing in the present is certain.

The pandemic brought so many uncertainties in our career, safety, family—life in general. Our lives—despite how ordinary it was—came to a stop. And the whole world suddenly stood still. Commuting to work, eating at fast foods, even the simple trips to convenience stores now required permissions, passes, and cards. In a blink of an eye, cities became ghost towns.

What’s worse, a lot of people have lost their jobs—almost half of the global workforce to be exact. Most of them didn’t have a choice.

I, too, was one of the statistics. But unlike others, I chose to leave my job. It was risky and counterintuitive, knowing that a lot of companies are closing down and laying off people.  

Despite the uncertainties, I decided it was time for me to move on in my career.

I was very anxious at first. But as we adjusted to the circumstances, I saw the pandemic as an opportunity to re-examine my life’s roadmap. 

Looking at the brighter side, the pandemic gave most of us time to reflect on our lives. The community lockdowns (albeit inconvenient and frightening at first) have given us ample time to find ourselves.

My Journey…

You see, I’ve always wanted to be a writer—to hole myself up in a cubicle somewhere typing away my dreams, fantasies, imagined worlds, and epiphanies in life. But after taking a creative writing program in college, I accepted the painful truth that I didn’t have a talent for writing. 

The pandemic has finally changed my mind. I decided to take a leap of faith and seriously pursue a full-time writing career. I began to apply for jobs I wasn’t qualified for. 

But getting hired wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. After two rejections, I wanted to give up and find something that is more within my abilities. 

Did I do the right thing? 

Should I just settle for something within my reach? 

Or should I continue looking for my ‘dream job’ despite the rejections? 

My insecurities became more real than ever. I was constantly overwhelmed with anxiety and impatience. I wanted to give up and aim for a safe goal.

Two rejections became more than the number of my fingers—I’ve lost count. Weeks turned to months. Calendars have changed, but I was still stuck in that imaginary waiting room for desperate job seekers. 

What once were hope and excitement turned into an ugly chaos of anxiety, doubts, and intense mental pressure.

My savings started running out, and I’ve become a huge financial burden to my mother. On top of that, I was living in my parents’ house. Though this is not uncommon among Asian households, this hurt my sense of value.

The more I browsed through job sites, the more I realized how lacking I am in skills. 

Then I gave up searching. I was tired of hoping. Worst, I felt like an impostor applying for something I’m not qualified for. 

Then an idea came: Maybe, after 5 years spinning in circles, it’s time for me to stop wandering and find my own career path. And maybe I needed to create my own doors of opportunity.

I allowed myself some time to rest from the job hunt and spent some more time reflecting. 

What do I really want? 

Where do I want to go? 

What do I want to achieve 2, 5, 10 years from now? 

Which of my goals really matter to me?

And how do I achieve them?

If there’s another thing I realized during the pandemic, it’s that the future is uncertain. And that could be a great thing—a chance for a brighter and more exciting tomorrow!

Maybe you were also asking the same questions as I did. 

The more I searched for what I really wanted, the more I understood how no work could (probably) ever satisfy my deepest cravings in life (no matter how cliché that sounds).

That’s when I decided to finally create this blog. To express my hopes, aspirations, and dreams. A blog that would journal my search for success. A blog that will hold me accountable for my future. A blog that will also inspire other wanderers to pursue their own vision of success. A blog that will make me do what I really want forever: exploring life in all its wonder.

How about you? Are you walking the path you’ve personally chosen? Or are you stuck in a rabbit hole of aimless wondering?

You may be like me who’s lost and desperately trying to make sense of this cruel reality we live in. But we sometimes have to be lost in order to appreciate how it feels to finally find our way, even when it’s not the way the norm prescribes.

If you’re looking for a place (or a career) to call your own, there’s no standard formula to getting there. If there is, I wish I knew.

Thankfully, there are guiding steps that we can follow. 

How to find your career path

After months of reflection, I discovered helpful ways to find my career path. Hopefully, these steps will help you, too.

 

1. Stay away from social media

Just for a while. Social media is an insane escape world from our reality. That’s why it’s also distracting. It exposes your mind to a lot of noise that you no longer hear your inner voice. 

So detoxify yourself from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (all these multiverses) for a day, a week, a month—however much time you need. You’ll be amazed at how much quieter and calmer your mental environment becomes. When this happens, you’ll give the inner you time to breathe, relax, and think. 

In moments of silence, you’ll hear your most genuine voice buried somewhere underneath your anxieties.

2. Know what you honestly want

What do you really want? You might have asked this question a lot but never had the time to answer it. 

Allocate a time of the day for self-reflection and meditation. If you don’t know where to start, read your previous journals, skim through your yearbooks, or go over the dreams you’ve listed somewhere in the corner of your memory. 

Identify a life goal that really resonates with your whole being. Be honest with your interests. Imagine the life that gets you jumping and trembling with excitement the most. And write it down, else you forget it. 

If you don’t have the time, then find some time.

3. Know your skills and talents

If you haven’t figured these out, please do. Remove your insecurities and false modesties. Honestly acknowledge your strengths. Your talents may be subtle hints that will help you create the blueprint of your own personal empire. Write down your strengths, skills, and expertise. Then dedicate some time to figure out how you could exploit your talents in a healthy way.

4. Pray

This may sound too religious or spiritual, but prayer does help. When you no longer have the energy to move forward, you may find it helpful to tap on some Higher energy (in my case, it was the Lord Jesus Christ) that will carry you through this season. 

5. Take it easy

Lastly, live one day at a time. Impatience always never leads to anything productive. So enjoy today. Build relationships. Forgive your shortcomings or other people’s. Learn from your mistakes. 

When you pay attention to what’s happening in your life, you will find the path that you were always meant to walk on.