Likes and Dislikes

So after a rather rough week at work, I've begun thinking a bit more about the inevitable "what next?" question. I'm not quitting or leaving anytime soon, but its always good to evaluate options. And several events at work, as well as rereading Strengths Finder 2.0, for a leadership class I'm taking, have made me stop to think.

The "what next?" (or as I still refer to it the "What do I want to be when I grow up?") question is loaded, overwhelming and tends to make me want to jump up and down, cry or shake my hands at high speed. So, in an effort to step back and make the question less daunting, I've compiled a quick list of my basic likes and dislikes to frame thoughts about my future.

What do I like to do?

• Smile
• Manage projects
• Create stuff in a day
• Write- blogs, letters, about products, to-dos
• Craft
• Meet new people
• Play with kids
• Exercise
• Buy people gifts
• Be outside
• Geek out with cool social internet tools
• Surprise people
• Organize
• Plan events
• Hang out with my family
• Help people figure out what they want to do
• Talk
• Entertain
• Run
• Try new exercise classes/athletic activities
• Travel

What don't I like to do?

• Lie
• Try to convince people of things I don't believe in
• Powerpoint decks
• Worry about money
• Be quiet
• Be treated disrespectfully
• Wear Black
• Feel replaceable
• Be super serious
• Swim
• Use excel
• Work late at night
• Spend more time presenting and selling than making and executing

The good news is that the list of likes is bigger than my list of dislikes. The bad news is I don't know how to make a career/living out of smiling, gifting and generally making merry. To be continued....