Second Starts

I'm starting to think about second careers.

Why?  The realization rose back to my consciousness this weekend that really, I can only do one thing.  Yes, I can maybe do it in other places, but it is still only one thing.  This wouldn't concern me too much except for the fact that 1) My industry seems to be shedding a great deal of jobs and 2) My skill set, years of experience and age are such that I may not be the first (or second, or third) choice in any job consideration.

Which raises the inevitable questions:  What career?  How long will it take?

Good questions.  I wish I had better answers.  I have managed to spend a lifetime discovering things that I'm not really good at, don't like, or do like but are not profitable.  This hit and run philosophy has not really given me an insight into what the next step could or should be, although it has given me a few pointers about myself:

1)  I tend to lose interest quickly unless I'm engaged.
2)  I tend to romanticize things and overlook the drudgery.
3)  I need something that keeps my mind and my body engaged.

The last point is the interesting one to me personally, something I have overlooked over the years.  I can be just as disengaged mentally as I can be physically.  The best tasks, the ones that not only are most productive but are most enjoyable, are the ones that involve both my body and my mind.  It forces me to focus, to be "In the moment" as Zen would call it.

What would that look like?  I'm not sure.  I'm paging through my local Junior College, trying to find a program that both looks interesting and would address the criteria above. 

Is it an investment? Sure.  Is it something I might never use?  Perhaps not professionally.  But I am dogged by the sense that in the event the bottom falls out, I have very little in the way of skills or skill sets to fall back on.

Being in the control of circumstances can be a frightening place.