Health Coaching
Mykala’s trying to decide what job she wants to do. While I have lived comfortably inside the four walls of dentistry, shutting out the frighteningly wide world of possibility, Mykala has been looking for the right fit for her. She’s whip smart and interested in many things… which makes it hard. I can relate: I love coding, but would never want to do it for a job. Mykala loves dance, but doesn’t always want to do that for a job. What’s more, we both have complicated ideals around work:
- Work should not be the wellspring of satisfaction with life.
- Nevertheless, work should enable one to do something that one feels has purpose and meaning.
- One must fight for autonomy.
Later this year, Mykala will graduate with her Master’s in Human Development, and this opens so many doors that we’re trying to narrow down the door count. The Paradox of Choice rears its ugly head: it’s hard to be happy with one career when you know you could do 5 others. By contrast, it’s easy for me to be happy with dentistry… I have to be. As much as I enjoy it, I know that I must be a dentist in order to pay back my loans. I have no choice but to derive satisfaction. Mykala has no such limitations.
A distinct possibility for Mykala is Health Coach. I was particularly encouraged by HealthEast’s site about health coaching. It seems to indicate that there is a place for folks in this profession to act as “trainer, nutritionist, relationship guru, career counselor (MH)” in a referral-based setting. As an emerging field, Mykala could get that much-needed autonomy as she shapes both her immediate surroundings and the direction of the profession.
The scariest thing, I think, is that to pick a career makes one feel that they are discarding many others. I mustn’t, however, think of career decisions as once-in-a-lifetime.