Page 41 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

STEP 1: PERFECT THE PRESENT 29

But who works on these needs and values assessments until
they are in their forties? Guidance and career counselors don’t work
through these exercises. All this time, I didn’t know who I was or
what was important to me. I knew I was missing something, but I
couldn’t put a finger on it until we did all that work on identifying
my personal requirements and values. I never in a million years
would have guessed I needed balance, for example. And spending
time clearly defining my values was very important. Then I could see
clearly what was missing in my work and what I needed to make me
happy. Quite honestly, the Myers-Briggs stuff (a personality assess-
ment) is interesting, but the values and needs exercises are far more
important. They are much more valuable tools. Life is all about val-
ues and needs. You aren’t going to be happy unless you meet those
needs (take the Personal Requirements Quiz in Step 2) and are living
those values. It’s as simple as that.
Law school wasn’t a total waste of time. I liked the criminal law
and prosecution work—I saw it as a way to make a difference in
people’s lives, make a little money, and give back to society—but I
wasn’t passionate about the law. I didn’t want to go to law school,
but people said to go. So, I did. Now I’d advise students to really get
clear on their values before they go to school and to follow their
hearts. Otherwise, you will be on the wrong track and will waste
years of your life trying to make someone else happy. It’s your life,
and you can’t make someone else happy by being miserable!

We didn’t use the envy exercise (described in Step 5), but is there
someone out there that you envy?
If I looked at people I envy, it would be after reading an article about
people who are doing dog rescue work or setting up foundations for
dogs. The woman who started guide dogs for the blind—I’d love
to be that woman. On the other hand, when I was in my twen-
ties, I’d say I’d envy Diane Sawyer. You get to meet such interesting
and fascinating people. Or Katie Couric. I loved the journalism. That
is one of the things I’m passionate about and why I majored in
journalism. I’ve always thought it would be wonderful to be one of
those people who do the pet segments and bring dogs in there for