People who have found themselves working in the same industry for an extended amount of time will often say that they didn’t set out to work in the industry they’re in. They got a job, started work, and the opportunities and demands of life kept them in a routine. Life has a way of going by very quickly, and before you know it, you’ve been in a job longer than you ever planned. You’ve reached a “point of no return” in your job that makes the potential of leaving and starting over in an entirely different industry totally unreasonable.

So what do you do if you’re not sure if the job you’re in isn’t really the career — or the industry — you’re interested in?

You don’t always have to start over.

You may find yourself in a job that doesn’t leverage your skills or passions. You may feel under-appreciated or unseen in the job you have. You may feel like you need to move on if you’re ever going to move forward with your career.

But that’s not always the case. Some of the most successful people are able to find ways of doing what they love even if their job description or their industry doesn’t seem to support it.

Find a Way to Still Do What You Love

Do you enjoy event planning? Maybe there’s a chance to help with holiday parties or events at your 9-5 job. Do you like working in training or teaching? Perhaps facilitating a new software implementation or a professional development program could fall onto the “other duties as assigned” portion of your job description. Are you skilled in a trade or craft that your 9-5 job description doesn’t give you the ability to use? Maybe a special project or volunteer opportunity will give you a chance to use your hands or your mind in a new way.

The point is that opportunities will come for you if you think bigger than the 8.5 x 11 piece of paper that summarizes your job tasks and responsibilities. The more you can think differently and find ways to break out of the confines of your job, the more you can use some of those other pieces of you.

As long as you’re getting your regular job duties done, there are not many bosses or supervisors who will resist you going further, doing more, and thinking bigger.

We’ll continue this conversation in the coming weeks, helping people discover that the opportunities they’re looking for are often right under their nose. It just comes down learning to discover the possibilities in front of you.