Career satisfaction and tiredness

Context
I spent a number of years qualifying for and working in a job I have since quit to do something more in line with my values, that wasn’t burning me out.
I now work self employed in a job I love, I have a few years experience in entry level roles and introductory qualifications. It is a very physical job that is hurting my body in a few ways, and leaving me very tired.

I would like to change job to work with people again, I miss being in a team, working to a larger collective.. ..something; I’d like to utilise some of the skills from my first career; I’d like to be able to be employed, I’m doing OK financially, but was never what I wanted; I’d like to be able to do less physical work so I have more energy for running / exercise, without risking my income because I’m injured.

There are a few avenues in my new industry to do this, and I feel uncommitted to any particular one, but do feel I would enjoy any of the options. This means I am scattergun applying for stuff. I’ve sent off lots of applications and had a few interviews. I feel underqualified in some ways ,while being overqualified in other ways and my desperation to stop being exhausted, in pain and alone is making me feel quite neurotic, constantly changing which avenue I think is best, as well as the process of applying and waiting to hear back from interviews.

Questions…
I feel like I need to address my tiredness. It’s so dependent on what work tasks I am doing that day, I think I’ve lost how to read my body. I’m paid hourly so feel ‘on the clock’ so never stop working. …? The solution I have come up with is changing my job, but that’s a long term thing and I would appreciate short term ideas that don’t loose income.
How do I calm my brain down about the job hunt? I have considered doing more qualifications but I think that’s a costly waste of time, as I could learn on a job, given my existing experience. But the holes in my experience make me feel inadequate.
I keep trying to do models about the above and never manage to complete them… I’m new to TFC!

 

Answer:

Welcome to TFC! This is a great first question. It’s not your experience that you have under your belt that makes you feel inadequate, it’s your thoughts about it. 

If we broke your experience down into a really concrete C, it could look something like, “Worked from X-X dates, Y-Y dates, Z-Z dates. Have B certification and C certification.” Your brain has is saying, “There are holes in my experience,” which is nuanced as a bad thing. That’s what makes you feel inadequate.

What else do you think is true about your experience that makes you feel calm or, dare I say, qualified or even…valuable? Can you list three things? 

This exercise ties nicely back into your first question. How you think about yourself will show up in how you approach your work. If you lead with the idea that your time is valuable and your body deserves rest so you can perform well, how would your approach to finding a solution change?