The (trauma of) self-knowledge

"This is my time to shine" is the phrase that always runs through my head when someone brings up the topic of vocational crises in a conversation. I will continue to pick a fight with whoever decided that the best time to choose a professional career was at 17 years old.

Between high school final exams and admission tests, the time left to think with a cool head is the answer to the dreaded question "What do I want to do for the rest of my life?" is, ultimately, null. Which is almost equivalent to the level of self-knowledge that one usually has at those moments in life.

I can almost guarantee that I have already taken any vocational test that exists on the internet, and probably about 3 times each. The most curious thing is that I was always very clear about what I wanted to be when I grew up, but when things are thought about in the long term, my life plan no longer fit with the career I had always dreamed of as a child. No way.

It was then that my "rational" side made me make irrational decisions, and after leaving school I ended up choosing a career that began to catch my attention only when I saw the zeros on the salaries. Bad decision, I don't recommend it. Money should never be the only reason we do what we do.

I waited patiently for two years in my previous career for it to get interesting, but it never did. It was there that I truly came to my senses about how little I knew myself. Was I willing to sell my life for something that didn't make me happy? The truth is that I didn't fancy it in the least.

That was the beginning of my journey of self-knowledge. And we usually think: "But how can I not know myself?" It's amazing how the project of knowing ourselves is never really finished.

Even though I knew that self-discovery is an extremely difficult and uncomfortable process, I took the time to research more effective tools than those I was given in my career counseling, and I found one that was incredibly enlightening: self-knowledge circles.

The other day, while reading Xavi Roca's 'Desmárcate' (highly recommended, by the way), I was reminded of how much this tool had helped me find my path in the communications profession.

The exercise involves drawing three circles on a piece of paper and filling each one with the answers to the following questions:

• Your passion: What are you passionate about?

• Your talent: What are you naturally good at?

• Job Market: What can you get paid to do?

Where the circles overlap is where your ideal career lies. It sounds simple, but finding that sweet spot takes a lot of self-reflection and research. Self-discovery can be tough, but it’s essential. If you don’t know yourself, how can you know what you want?

As Seneca said,

"There is no favorable wind for the one who does not know what port he is headed for".