Page 101 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

STEP 4: IDENTIFY YOUR NATURAL TALENTS AND ABILITIES 89

paid well—too well to justify a switch to something that may be
more personally fulfilling.
Some people don’t start doing what they really want to do until
they have retired. You don’t have to wait. Start now. The sooner you
start, the better your chances are of being successful at it, because
you’ll have more time to develop your natural talents and reach
mastery. Or, you may be like me: I didn’t know that I was a natural
coach until I was twenty-nine. Also, although I had vague notions
of writing westerns after I retired, I had no idea that the ability
to write was hardwired in. It is easier for me to coach, speak, and
write than it is for others, simply because my brain is designed for
those tasks. Oddly enough, even though I was a successful man-
ager at the bank and got good evaluations, management turns out
to be one of my weakest areas. I was astounded to discover that
something I thought was a strength, something at which I had
proved successful, was something I shouldn’t be doing. No won-
der I felt I hadn’t tapped into my full potential—I hadn’t!
If you feel that something is missing or that you haven’t tapped
into your full potential, you are right. I’m aghast at how many
people prefer to take antidepressants or numb themselves with
alcohol or other substances to stay in a job they don’t like because
it pays well. What chance for happiness do you have if you are
stuck doing something you detest for eight or more hours a day?
If you aren’t happy in your current job, don’t try to ignore your
unhappiness or dull it with drugs. Your displeasure is your body
and mind’s way of saying, “Get me out of here!” If you invest a bit
of time and money into discovering your hidden talents and your
passions, you’ll soon be a much happier camper, because you’ll be
getting a natural high from doing work you love to do. You won’t
have to hit the snooze alarm fifteen times either, because when
your job is exciting and interesting, you’ll want to get out of bed
and get to it.
Our inherent abilities and natural talents are so much a part
of our makeup that they can be like breathing; we may take them