So, you’re an October Pisces, huh? Or maybe you just feel like one when it comes to your job right now. That feeling, you know, like you’re kinda floating, looking at the horizon, wondering what the heck is actually next for your work life. Man, I’ve been there, more times than I care to count, and honestly, sometimes I still catch myself drifting a bit. It’s part of the journey, I reckon, especially when you’ve been doing this for a while.
I remember this one period, not too long ago, felt like everything I thought I knew about my gig just kinda… fizzled out. For years, I just kept my head down, pushing, building stuff. It was good, steady, always a new challenge. Then, one day, I just woke up and thought, “Is this really it? Is this all there is?” It wasn’t about being unhappy, not really, more like a dull ache, a whisper telling me to look around a bit more. That’s when I started feeling like one of those fish, trying to figure out which current to jump into next.
The “What Now?” Moment
My first move? I kinda just stopped. Like, literally. I pulled back from extra projects, cut down my commitments, and just gave myself some breathing room. It felt weird at first, like I was slacking off, but I needed to clear the noise. All that constant doing just kept me from hearing what my own gut was trying to tell me. I spent a good few weeks just… observing. Watching what I naturally gravitated towards, what articles I actually read for fun, what kind of problems I still got a kick out of solving, even if they weren’t directly in my job description anymore.
- I started by logging all my thoughts, just scribbling whatever came to mind in an old notebook. No judgment, no filter. Just raw ideas about what annoyed me, what excited me, what I dreamed about doing if money wasn’t a thing.
- Then, I deliberately sought out people doing stuff that looked interesting, even if it was totally different from my field. I wasn’t asking for a job, just trying to understand their day-to-day. What did they like? What sucked? It was all about gathering intel, you know?
- I remember I even signed up for a beginner’s course in something completely unrelated to my career, just to see if it sparked anything. It didn’t turn into a new career, but it did teach me that I still loved learning new skills, even if they were just for the heck of it.
It was a bit messy, I won’t lie. One day I was convinced I should totally pivot to something creative, the next I was thinking I should double down on what I knew and just try to find a different angle. It felt like I was spinning my wheels a lot.
Putting Things to the Test
After all that floating and thinking, I figured I couldn’t just keep waiting for a lightning bolt. I had to start trying things, even small stuff. So, I started reaching out to old contacts. Not for a job, but just to chat, to see what they were working on, how their world had changed. And man, that opened up some doors I didn’t even know existed.
I distinctly remember one call with a buddy who’d left our old company years ago. He was doing something totally different, and he just threw out, “Hey, we’re messing around with this new tech, you might find it interesting, wanna just poke at it for a bit?” It wasn’t a job offer, not really, but it was a chance to dip my toes in something new without ditching my current gig completely. It felt like a low-stakes way to experiment.
- I committed to spending a few hours a week just exploring this new tech. No pressure, no deadlines, just curiosity. I’d read documentation, watch tutorials, try building super simple stuff.
- I also started actively looking for little projects at my existing job that used different skills than my usual grind. I’d volunteer for things that others might shy away from, just to see if I could find a new spark there.
- I paid attention to how I felt during these different activities. Was I dragging my feet? Or did the time just fly by? That feeling, that flow, became my compass.
What I learned through all this was that “what’s next” isn’t usually some grand, perfectly laid out plan. It’s more like a series of small experiments, a bunch of little adjustments, until you find a current that feels right, that carries you forward with a bit more ease and excitement. It was never about finding the perfect path, but about finding a path that felt aligned with who I was becoming. And sometimes, that path wasn’t even a brand new one, it was just seeing my old path with fresh eyes, or finding a different side of it.
So if you’re out there, an October Pisces or just someone feeling that same pull, don’t rush it. Give yourself the space to just observe, to poke around, and to try little things. You never know which small ripple will turn into the wave that takes you exactly where you need to be.
