Ask the LifeQuake Doctor
Here is a recent excerpt from my column, “Ask the LifeQuake™ Doctor,” which is applicable to many people who are currently searching for new lines of work. Rather than pigeon-holing yourself into a particular job title, explore other opportunities to use your skill set.
Dear Dr. Toni:
I am a 65-year-old woman who has a passion for teaching foreign languages but no one will give me a job. I moved 3,000 miles away to care for my dying daughter and since her death seven years ago, everything has gone wrong for me. I go on countless interviews, but to no avail. I hate where I live and am barely making ends meet. I am ready to give up. I have completely lost faith in myself.
Can you help?
Hopeless
Dear Hopeless:
My heart goes out to you on the passing of your daughter. Losing a child is probably the most devastating thing that can happen to an individual. Having said that, I would encourage you to do some grief counseling if you can and release all this pain. Perhaps you are not getting a job because you are not meant to express your gift as a teacher in a formal academic setting.
There are plenty of students outside the classroom who struggle with learning a foreign language and parents today get a tutor for everything. You might consider going on craigslist.org and posting an ad. Also, there are many private language institutes that could use retired teachers. What is most important to manifesting your desire is to visualize yourself teaching with all that passion every day. Create an affirmation such as, “I am now teaching in the perfect environment where my skills are effortlessly supported and well remunerated.” Speak it out loud everyday.
Good luck and don’t give up. A change is just around the corner if you keep the fire of your passion burning in your heart.