5 jobs I would totally suck at doing! And what that tells me about myself ;) | LOH #122

I started my first job, ironing for a big family down the road from us, when I was 14 years and 9 months old. Since then I've done at least 50 different work-type roles.

I lasted only a day doing some of them (like being an organic food picker) and others for years (like being an outdoor education instructor).

In my search for what I'm good at and what I am uniquely here to do, I have discovered a lot of things that I wasn't good at and many things I definitely didn't want to do.

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So here's a list of 5 jobs that I think I would be terrible at, and what each one teaches me about my natural strengths, talents, gifts and preferences 👇

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1. A tradesperson - In case English isn't your first language, a tradesperson (or "tradie") is someone who builds, makes and fixes physical things. Think about a bricklayer, an electrician, or a plumber (though there's a very long list of roles a tradie might be trained in for their career).

While these roles are overwhelmingly filled by men (especially in countries like Australia) that isn't the real reason I think I would suck at being a tradie. There are, in fact, two reasons:

a. I'd have to work physically too hard every day, and

b. I'm not naturally very good at physically building, making or fixing things.

Let's look at those two a bit closer:

I'd have to work physically too hard every day.

It would be easy to call myself lazy but that's not it. I'm happy to work hard but only seem to be able to keep it up for short stints. I guess I'm more like a cheetah than an elephant; I can sprint but then I need to rest. I can't just potter along, carrying heavy loads, all day long, day in and day out.

I'm not naturally very good at physically building, making or fixing things.

I feel like--when I watch my partner who is a tradie--there is this kind of intuitive sense he has about how physical objects work. It's like he gets things in a way I'm never going to get. He can see or feel how things go together and how to pull them apart. I just don't have that sense. It's like I have two left feet when it comes to even thinking about how I would build something.

What this tells me about me:

I'm better suited to roles where I can do and then rest, do and then rest. I'm also better suited to roles where I don't need to do an ounce of fixing anything tangible. I'm much better at fixing things that are intangible, like human behaviours and beliefs.

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2. A research writer - With this kind of role what I was thinking about is actually anyone who has to:

a. Work in an office alone all day long, and

b. Is endlessly searching for, reading, recording and organising information.

I'm sure there would be a lot of different roles that require these sorts of day-to-day activities. And not only would I suck at doing this kind of job, but I'd also be completely miserable.

What this tells me about me:

I love interacting with people! And because, while I love learning, I prefer to learn by listening and then I immediately want to teach people what I've learned in a way they can access and provide feedback in a very short timeframe.

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3. Truck driver - But really, this could include any job that required me to drive for a lot of hours every day, including being a courier drive, a train driver, a taxi driver, a bus driver or even an airline pilot. I would suck at these kinds of roles for these two reasons:

a. I am acutely aware of how bad sitting down is for our health and I would hate the lack of freedom to be able to move regularly, and

b. I would feel trapped, in this small space, mostly on my own or potentially with other people I didn't want to share that small space with.

What this tells me about me:

I really value having a lot of freedom and I also really value my health. So having a role where I have the freedom to move regularly throughout my day is ideal, and one where I can prioritise the inclusion of things that actively support my health and well-being is ideal.

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4. Customer service role in a government organisation - Here in Australia there are so many of these kinds of roles. For the sake of this article, I'm including every kind of public-facing or public-service-type role at any level of government that has serving customers as the major part of the job.

It would drive me totally nuts and therefore I would suck at this too, for two main reasons:

a. Government departments in Australia are typically very rule-bound and bureaucratic, and

b. I'd have to deal with whinging, complaining people who are looking for someone to blame instead of taking responsibility for solving their own problems.

What this tells me about me:

I love helping people but when I go to solve a problem with someone I want maximum space and opportunity for creativity. I like to be able to offer unconventional solutions (as often people have tried all the so-called sensible things and none of them have worked). I don't want to be told what narrow box I have to operate within, I want to just do good things that help people and don't harm anyone--they are my preferred parameter.

And, I like working with people who are actively working towards solving their own problem and just need one little piece of info they're missing or one little course correction and then they'll go solve their own problem, and feel even more empowered in the process.

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5. Real Estate Agent - I could have equally said "Car Salesperson" or "Phone Contracts Seller" or "Brand Ambassador" or any role that requires selling day-in and day-out, where the entire job is to convince people to buy the thing you're selling.

Why I would (and do!) suck at these roles and would (and have!) avoided them:

a. I don't want to sell people things they don't need or want, and

b. I get tired talking all day long.

What this tells me about me:

I actually love selling. Just like I love helping people and solving problems. But I like understanding what the other person needs and wants and recommending things to them that are going to not only be a match for them, but also improve the quality of their life.

That means I can't happily work for a car dealer or a real estate agent or a phone company because I have very limited options for what I could sell to people. So a role where I can sell a wide variety of things is way better for me.

Also, a role where sales is only part of what I do is essential because I need to not have to talk all day and even, not have to be around people all day long.

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In summary, here's what I can say about my natural strengths and talents, gifts and preferences:

I prefer roles where I have time with others and time alone, where there is a natural ebb and flow of doing and resting, talking and listening, as well as quiet time to ponder and learn new things.

I'm good at supporting people to solve their own problems, relating to their relationships and their own behaviours, through knowing when to talk and when to listen, and which resources might be a good match for them.

I'm forever learning new things, absorbing information from all the many things I listen to and I am well suited to roles where I am turnaround and teach the things I've been learning as soon as I've had some time to integrate and embody what I've learned.

I value the kinds of roles where I have a lot of autonomy and freedom to spend my time the way I want to, where I can dance in the middle of a workday, and work from a stand-up (or squat-down) desk.

I like teaching things to people and recommending things they can buy that will genuinely improve the quality of their life.

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So... it might not surprise you, dear reader, when I tell you that in my line of work, I do all those things. That is, I run an online business where I work the way I want to work, where I call the shots and if I don't like the way I'm doing something, I change it.

It took me the best part of 20 years to even start to get close to this and even now, 25 years after starting that first job, I'm still tweaking it and making sure it's profitable, sustainable and endlessly enjoyable. It's required a lot of courage on my part to do things my family do not understand or even necessarily approve of. Most people in my local community don't understand what I do and I'm forever trying to find ways to explain it to the average person on the street or at parkrun who asks, "What do you do?"

I also recognise that what I'm doing is far easier to do because I speak a language that is globally recognised, that I have a solid education behind me, that I live in peaceful times in a rich country and, if nothing else, I have an almost endless supply of food, water, shelter, security and internet. Thus, I am extremely lucky and now, more than ever, I realise this.

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This post was inspired by this week's Ladies of Hive prompt (#2) by justclickindiva who asked:

What job would you be absolutely terrible at?

If you're someone who has been trying to work out their strengths, talents, gifts or even your life purpose then this could be a really valuable exercise for you to write about for yourself. (And post your findings on Hive, of course! 😉)

Why? Because sometimes when we can't solve a problem head-on, despite our best efforts, a clever way is to sneak around the back and ask ourselves the exact opposite question. It can reveal a lot!

If you're a woman (even if you don't consider yourself a "lady" per se, you can enter this week's contest in the Ladies of Hive community.

If you're not a woman but you like this idea then please, by all means, write a post about this topic and pop the post in any community that you think a post like this belongs. 😄