When you can't see your own next step, help someone else take theirs.
Some people know what they want to do from childhood. One of my oldest friends could recite every route on Chicago's transit system by the time he was 8, and today he's an executive at the Chicago Transit Authority.
Another friend, raised by two doctors, planned his medical career in fourth grade. Today he leads genetic medicine at a major institution.
I didn't have that kind of clarity. Even after Northwestern and a string of good sales jobs, chasing titles and paychecks left me feeling empty.
So in my mid-20s, I enlisted in the Army. My friends thought I was throwing my career away, and my family nearly held an intervention.
I served as a combat photographer and as a producer for the Armed Forces Network. Most weeks I turned out 5 news stories and 30 broadcast pieces, with constant travel and tight deadlines.
Somewhere in that pace, my question changed. I stopped asking what the job could give me and started asking what I could give to something bigger than me.
That question cleared things up faster than any career plan had. I still use it.
Why it works
When you help someone with a real problem, you learn what you're good at and who values it. You also meet people you would never meet while sitting alone with your résumé.
Research published in BMC Public Health found that volunteering is linked to lower depression and higher life satisfaction. Helping someone won't pay the mortgage this month, but it can open doors you didn't know were there.
What to do with it
Find three problems you could help solve this month. Editing a friend's short film or fixing a local nonprofit's website both count.
Offer one skill, once, to someone who needs it, and ask for nothing in return.
Notice who you meet and what you enjoy. Your next chapter often shows up while you're helping someone else with theirs.
