Independence is a lot of work, but slaving away, day after day, at something you don’t care about, well, that’s just stinks! So I hope you’re able to find your way to a job/business/career that gets you excited and fuels great work.

Oh, and keep reading this blog!

Eric

I totally here you about the introvert part. The cubicle can be a safe place for us intros. I just can’t stand being tied down to the idea of a cubicle. The idea of restriction. I love my freedom and even though I get anxiety when I’m around too many people I don’t know, I’d rather go through those pains than lose my freedom to my fears.

I’m not saying that what you’re referring to, it’s just what comes to mind when I think of working in a cubicle for years on end.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. You’re ALWAYS welcome, even if you’re late. Eric

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, I’ve been working as an administrator for several years, which makes sense because I like organising stuff and problem solving. But like you I’m an introvert, so being in a quiet office and working alone is important too, I’m lucky at the moment to be in a quite autonomous education admin role, I basically stay at my desk all day organising things (like assignment papers etc.) or emailing students, and sometimes deal with student queries in person (well, it’s good for us introverts to be taken out of our comfort zones occasionally!).

I too have had experiences in jobs that are not so great for introverts, like sales, marketing, PR etc. which stressed me out and left me feeling ungrounded, but saying that they’ve given me some useful learning experiences and brought me out of my shell a bit.

p.s. I think I may be one of the few people in the world who actually wouldn’t mind having their own cubicle, I’d prefer that than the ubiquitous busy, noisy open plan spaces

@Lola: “The days of a job for life have gone and I think that’s exciting and great, it means we can do what we like and create opportunities for ourselves.”

I TOTALLY agree. It’s now our responsibility to make sure that the endeavors we pursue are right for us.

@Sara: Your comment made me cringe. Seriously, the thought of having to deal with press conferences for an introvert is just scary and nerve racking to say the least. I’m glad that time has passed for you.

@Danelle: You’ll have to tell me more about that USB rocket launcher thing! Definitely sounds interesting.

@Click and Inc: There’s no doubt it’s an ongoing journey. I think that knowing what you want is hard, but know what you DON’T want is much easier to recognize. It’s also a great step in finding what works for you.

@Vincent: “There is nothing worse than dragging ourselves to work everyday just for the paycheck.”

I HEAR THAT!!! Yet it’s something many of us do. Eric