Having trouble getting started...

I was in real estate for almost 12 years. It wasn't intentional. I had just burned out of grad school, needed a job, and answered an ad in the classifieds for an office manager of a local real estate company. After 1 1/2 years there, I moved on to become the transaction manager for a consistent top producer in my area. Though I'm licensed (a requirement of the job), I knew early on that I never wanted to sell real estate. As the head of my household (a select group that includes me and my dog), financial stability is crucial. I've seen too many agents stress about when the next commission check is coming in, and it never looked like much fun. Yes sirree, in order to maintain my mental health I definitely need a steady income. So, commission- based sales are definitely out of the running as my next career. At least I can scratch one off the list.

Ah, the list. What list, you may ask. Actually, there is no list. Yet. One of the things I'm supposed to be doing during my two-month sabbatical (that is now almost halfway over-- yikers!) is to make a list of all of the career fields that are of interest to me. I've discovered that this is much easier in theory than in reality. As I mentioned in my first post, my typical reaction to being overwhelmed is paralysis. Having produced absolutely nothing that even resembles a list in the first month of my mental health break is a perfect example of it. What is wrong with me? I know what's wrong. I'm just freaked out by all of the possibilities and need to get over myself. I have to keep reminding myself that it was my choice to quit my steady-paying but monotonous real estate job because I want to find a career that is meaningful and will allow me the opportunity to make my mark in the world. Selfish though it may sound, after I die I want people to know that I existed and at least tried to make the world a little better. Children may not be in the cards for me, so I need to carve out my niche some other way. Finding a meaningful career seems like a good place to start. My main purpose in keeping this blog is to (hopefully) jump-start and fine tune my thinking process as I careen along the unfamiliar road on which I now find myself. Vroom, vroom...