What IS my Vision for my Professional Self?

The next few weeks are kind of major for me. Big things are happening! (No, I am not having a baby or holding a secret wedding.) I am leaving my job in order to take on an internship, so I can pursue my interest in becoming a therapist. I have been trying to break into the clinical field for a while now, and I feel very privileged to have this opportunity. Not everyone gets to be an intern at 29 years old. Not everyone has the flexibility to pursue their real passions. Not everyone can take a leap of faith into the wild professional unknown without a safety net. I owe a lot of that of that privilege to my partner, who has a well-paying job and who is incredibly generous/incredibly tired of me being upset about my professional aspirations. 

Now that I have the space to dream about my professional future, I am left with some major questions! I wonder what I want that future to look like. What are my true aspirations? Yes, I want to be a therapist, but what kind of therapist do I want to be? What is my pie-in-the-sky vision for success? How will I know that I have, “Arrived?” Some of these questions will fall into place as I explore my options. Others will require some work. 

My therapist has always encouraged me to create a vision board, or a collage of images that represent what you want. I have always shrugged off that suggestion, never feeling like I had the opportunity to dream big, but now I do. I might take her up on that idea. Caroline Miller also suggests that we take twenty minutes per day for one week to, “Think about your life in the future. Imagine that everything has gone as well as it possibly could. You have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing all of your life goals. Think of this as the realization of all of your life dreams. Now, write about what you imagined.” 

There are all kinds of exercises like these online. Some of them feel a bit cheesy, and that is okay. I encourage you to play around with them. Give yourself permission to create a vision for your future. It is important to have a dream!

-       Lauren, new to this professional vision thang!