Happiness is Little Pizzas and Venn Diagrams

Thank you for all of the concerned comments, calls, and texts regarding my last post. Perhaps I was slightly more verbose about my bad day than I usually am, but I didn't mean to make everyone worry.

Let me clear things up.

I may not love my job, and it may be causing me some stress right now, but I'm totally OK. Life is still good.

In fact, tonight when I got to my grandparents' house, grandpa had made little pizzas for an appetizer.

Is there anything that could make a person happier than having a grandpa who makes you little pizzas?

You may be thinking, "yes."

If so, then you've never had my family's little pizzas. :)

And the other good thing about not loving work is that it's causing me to really look at life and what I want my career choices to be. Sometimes you need to know that you're in a situation that you don't want to be in forever to cause you to take some action to create a new situation. Right?

I've also realized that many of my jobs have come as kind-of knee-jerk reactions to needing a job and not really knowing what it is that I want.

The phrase from the scriptures that keeps coming to mind lately is that I now want "to act and not be acted upon." It's time to buckle down and make big-girl choices about where my life is heading.

So...I'm using one of the things I learned at the conference last weekend to help. It's a Venn Diagram.

You all remember what those are, right?

I think they're great.

But I'm also a little nerdy and like things like Venn Diagrams.

They look like this:

Each circle represents something different, and then your middle ground of your three variables is the answer for which you're looking.

The talk I heard related that in order to be in a VERY HAPPY place in your career, you need to put the following three things in the diagram:

1. What you love to do.

2. What you're good at doing.

3. What the world values (i.e. will pay you to do)

If you can find a career that incorporates these three factors, the likelihood of career satisfaction is very high. 

So, I'm using this as a model and making lists. I'll keep you updated. Comments about any of the three factors in relation to me are welcomed. There are no bad ideas in brainstorming. However, I reserve the right to veto your ideas later on. :)

OK - this post is too long, but I'm not editing. I'll sleep instead. 

And, yes, I did more than just learn at the conference. I met many wonderful people (read "great guys"), some of whom I'm hoping to keep in touch with (read, "Hey tall, dark, and handsome - call me!). None of this is making any sense anymore is it? I'm so glad tomorrow's Friday!!!