I thought I had no career. What I realized in my 50s after taking stock of my life

“I don’t really have anything.”

In your 40s or 50s, you might suddenly find yourself thinking that.

Especially when you start thinking about how you want to work in the future.

For example,

I don’t have any particular certifications.
I’ve always worked part-time.
I took time off from work to raise my children.
I am a full-time employee, but I haven’t done anything special.

When I open job sites, I see “experienced,” “ready to work,” “certified.”
While looking at those,
“I don’t have a career.”

I end up thinking that.

I, too, have only ever been a teacher.

I don’t have any certifications, and I wouldn’t be able to make it in the real world... I thought things like that until just recently.

But recently, I realized something.

It’s not that I don’t have a career.
Maybe it’s just that I haven’t been thinking of what I’ve done as a career.

—

My mother was an ordinary housewife.

She was the exact opposite of what people call a “career woman.”

But my mother was someone who took an interest in many things.

She learned knitting, she learned art flowers.

At first, of course, I don’t think she ever thought about making it a job.

“I want to try it.”

Wasn’t it just that?

However, as she continued, she improved, and eventually, she began teaching others.

People gathered at our home, and it became a small classroom.

It might have been something like what we call a “home salon” today.

My mother didn’t say, “I’m going to start a business!”

Learn what you like.

Continue it.

Become able to teach others.

Before I knew it, it had become her job.

Thinking about it now, that’s amazing.

—

My relative’s cooking was always amazing.

I have a relative who makes everything by hand.

Her cooking was just incredibly good.

When I went to visit,

“Eat this.”

“I made this too.”

It would come out one after another.

And it wasn’t just delicious.

She would make things with health in mind, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I don’t think it was anything special to her.

The usual cooking she had done for years.

But from the perspective of those around her,

“That’s amazing!”

is what it was.

And her daughter, my cousin, now runs a cafe.

She didn’t start it in her 20s.

She started it just before turning 40.

I don’t know if growing up watching her mother’s cooking was the direct reason.

But I think it’s somehow interesting.

What was someone’s daily life leads to someone else’s job.

Maybe that’s what life is all about.

—

So, what do I have?

Watching those women, I started thinking about myself, too.

I have worked as a teacher for a long time.

But if you asked me if I would continue working the same way from now on, honestly, I don’t know.

In my 50s.

My physical strength is different from when I was young.

“How do I want to work from here on out?”

I’ve started thinking about that more often.

So recently, I’ve been taking stock of my life little by little.

What can I do?

Instead of that,

What have I done?

What am I good at?

Not just that,

What do I enjoy doing?

What am I better at than others?

Instead of that,

What do people often ask me for help with?

I try changing the way I ask questions like that.

Then, there are things that start to become visible little by little.

—

It’s okay to take stock of “things you liked” too.

I’m actually interested in traditional fermented foods.

Miso, koji, amazake.

The more you learn about the things people used to make as a matter of course, the more interesting they become.

I make my own amazake. It’s a comforting taste.
I also make shio-koji.
My interest grew, and I even got a certification as a fermented food instructor.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to start a job right away.

I haven’t done anything yet.

I think that’s fine, too.

I’m preparing for someday.

When you reach your 50s, when you start something,

“Will that become a job?”

“Is there any point in doing that now?”

You tend to rush for answers.

But maybe you don’t have to head to the goal by the shortest route like you did in your 20s.

I learn because I’m interested.

I continue because I like it.

I get a certification because I want to know a little more.

Those dots can connect a few years later.

Just like my mother did.

Just like my cousin started a cafe just before she turned 40.

—

First, try writing down 10 “things you can do”

If you are thinking right now,

“I don’t have a career,”

I want you to try doing this once.

Write down what you have done so far.

I’ve been cooking for 20 years.

I’ve managed the household budget.

I raised children.

I did PTA work.

I’ve done customer service.

I’m good at listening to people.

I often teach new employees at work.

I organized neighborhood association events.

I can use Excel a little.

I like growing flowers.

Things like that are fine.

No, things like that are good.

Because the more “ordinary” something is to you, the harder it is to realize its value yourself.

People who are good at cooking say,

“Anyone can cook.”

People who are good at listening to others say,

“I’m just listening.”

People who are good at planning say,

“I’m just doing it normally.”

But there are many people in the world who find those “ordinary” things difficult.

—

A career isn’t something that only exists within a company.

I used to think of things like this when I heard the word career:

Job title.

Certification.

Specialized profession.

Years of service.

But now, it’s a little different.

The time that a person has lived might be their career itself.

The time spent as a housewife.

The time spent working part-time.

The time spent chasing after children.

The time spent taking care of parents.

The time spent absorbed in hobbies.

All of it is time spent acquiring something.

Whether you turn that into a job is something you can think about later.

Whether you change jobs or have a side hustle is the next step.

First, try stopping yourself from saying,

“I have nothing.”

And try taking your whole life off the shelf and looking at it once.

“Oh? I’ve done things like this, too.”

Things like that will surely come out, one or two.

Your 50s is not an age to start from zero.

It is an age to start choosing what you will take with you into your future from among the many things you already have.

I am still in the middle of that, too.

But that’s fine.

I’m sowing seeds for someday.

And while looking forward to seeing what those seeds will become, I think I’ll walk a little further.