Do you have an inner-geek? Boy, I sure do.

Maybe you don’t have an inner-geek, but you do have an inner-artist or an inner-writer or an inner-athlete. Whatever you have, it is very important that you keep them fed.

Back in 2002, my inner-geek had not been fed in a very long time; that is how I ended up in accounting. It started with a class that my company sent me to which was designed to teach us how to speak to C-level executives. The instructor started the class by explaining some basic financial statement analysis techniques to the room full of salespeople. My inner-geek rose from within and ravenously devoured income statements and balance sheets. I was completely inspired.

When I got home from that class (it was a two week class at a dude ranch in Colorado) I quickly signed up for Accounting 101 at my local junior college and did not quit until I had obtained my CPA license.

Now I am on the record as saying that going into accounting was a career mistake for me. I did not thrive in the industry and I shed many, many tears about that choice over the course of the 4 ½ years it took to finish it.

I have now come to terms with my inner-geek, I even appreciate her. I am just much more careful not to let her overeat at the buffet table next time! I am currently taking a class in Microsoft Access. No one, except for my inner-geek, seems to understand why I am doing this. It is a program I have always wanted to learn…so I am! And, she appreciates it.

I recently wrote about an event I attended where the speaker, Nancy Monson, lead a discussion around the idea of “Living a Life Aligned with Your Values”. During the discussion we broke up into small groups of 2 or 3 and discussed questions posed by the speaker. One of the questions was what we thought the reasons were for being dissatisfied with our life as it relates to our most important values.

The gal that I was sitting with told me that she felt that she was not satisfied with the value of “self-expression” in her life. I suggested to her that she take a class in something that would address this value and I told her about my inner-geek and my MS Access class. She actually looked almost relieved. The next time I see her, I will ask her about whether she was able to identify a class that would be meaningful to her value of self-expression and encourage her to sign up for something...anything... to feed her need in this area.

We have many options through our school systems, our adult education programs, our local colleges and various other community resources which provide us opportunities to explore - and feed - our inner-whatevers.

What class should you be taking???

This content was previously published on www.careercourageously.com