“𝘚𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘤𝘬’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦.”
“𝘉𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳.”
“𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.”
All of this well-meaning career advice rests on the premise that you know what you want to do– that you’re the captain of your career ship, charting your course toward some distant port.
Small problem: 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 (𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁) 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝟯𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀. And when you’re a ship-captain without a clear destination, you feel lost. You feel less than. You feel overwhelmed.
Here’s the good news: In this dynamic market, not knowing what you want to do is actually a feature, not a bug.
✅ You find your purpose not by setting sail for some distant port but by sampling different opportunities.
✅ You grow your skills by taking on assignments, not climbing some mythical ladder.
✅ You find fulfillment when you follow your curiosity, not by following the money.
Tomorrow’s hottest job doesn’t exist today. Agility trumps ability.
It’s time for a different metaphor.
Rather than captain your career ship, fancy yourself a surfer, catching waves. You’ll fall down a lot, but you’ll keep getting up a little smarter and a lot more resolved.
There’s always another wave coming, and you find joy in the ride, rather than some know-your-number, you’ll-be-happy-when destination.
Here’s the cherry on that sundae. While ship captains fear rough waters, surfers wax their boards and head to the beach. And sure looks like we’re in for some turbulent times.
So, if you don’t know what you want to do, congratulations. Surf’s up! 🏄♂️
