The Right Path

 I have always asked my interviewee the following questions: “Are you happy with your job, profession,career? If you were to be offered anew start what would you do? “.
 

It is believed that most people think about “the right path” in the job or profession. This certainly appears to be a fashionable subject in the media. But let’s ask ourselves, what is “the right path” about?
 

Five years ago, it may have been about climbing the corporate ladder and owning a roaring title on the business card. Of course, with that came along the good mone and the comfortable lifestyle. Nowadays, for many people its significance shifted into finding the true happiness and enjoyment or intellectual satisfaction in their job.It should be about all of this altogether, but it rarely happens that way.

I myself had the chance of a new start. In the last years I’ve been fascinated by Asia and I remember that when asked about my dream office during a team-building exercise, I have located it in Asia. Soon after that episode, I’ve decided to take the plunge and move to Vietnam. Shortly after my arrival, I remember reading on the cover of an expat dedicated magazine that “Vietnam is the land of all possibilities”. I thought that the article was about economy and foreign investments, but the people I met told me that the true meaning of this is that Vietnam is the place where one can reinvent himself. I did not fully understand this until the moment when I realized that I am more than my CV -an enumeration of past experiences, activities and credentials – and when I became uncaged from my native society guidelines and my own rigid expectations. Thereafter, I have encountered people and situations that were drawn to different parts of my potential or various capabilities and motivations. I have been offered alternatives and they all have the great power of transforming into “a path”.

Working as an Executive Search Consultant seems certainly the obvious move for mycareer. It means continuing things from where I left them and most likely from a more senior strategic role. Also, it comes with the money, networking with the people who call the shots and very nice dresses. Still, is it truly something intellectual satisfactory? Does it bring me authentic happiness and enjoyment? 

Teaching English to kindergarten children is definitely all about enjoyment, happiness and energy. But could this be a career? Cause certainly it isn’t about good money. 
 

Attending an education program about becoming a trainer and coach is definitely producing intellectual satisfaction. Those could be the first steps towards an interesting career and also could involve enjoyment from contributing positively to others. But education and new beginnings do not generate short term money, instead they consume it.

It seems that I cannot do and have everything altogether. I’ll have to choose. What should my choice be? Well, I could take the easy way out: let myself to chance and see what it will come out of that. But I think that new beginnings deserve new approaches. Thus, I will really look inside myself and choose what it will make me the happiest. Who knows, maybe I will come up with a solution to do and to have everything.

How about you?

Have you thought about what makes you happy? Are you on the right path? If the answer is no, what is the right path for you and how can you get there? 

Alina Musuroaea
Our correspondent from Vietnam