Daphne draws parallels between working and dating... and doesn't like the conclusions

I think insurance sucks my soul. The longer I work in this industry (and it really hasn't been that long) the less energy I have. I think my braincells are deteriorating, too.

I think the solution to this is doing more freelance work. I say "more" as though I do any right now at all, which I don't. At any rate, I emailed my old colleague asking for some tips on how to freelance, and she wrote back with about a million. She even offered to pass along any opportunites to me that she doesn't have time for herself.

Now, I just need to get motivated to do it. I think part of my problem is that I have a short attention span. I get excited about something, and then I"m just over it. It no longer piques my interest, and I move on to something else.

But maybe this is all just a result of ho freaking boring insurance is. Maybe if I was doing something that required a little more creativity, I'd be happier. I liked working so closely with the graphic designer and marketing team in my last job (not to imply that my last job didn't suck, because it did). I almost miss doing all of those HTML newsletters - simply because I had some input on how they turned out.

Maybe on the pendulum of communications jobs I've just moved from one extreme on the scale to another. I went from being the only person in my role, which meant I couldn't learn from anyone but had all the creative license in the world - to being one of many, where I can learn from many people, but have absolutely no say on what I'm doing.

I used to look at my dating record as a giant list in progress of what I don't want in life. Each failed relationship taught me something about myself, and about what I don't want in a mate. When a relationship ended, I simply added something else to my 'never again' list, and moved on. It was productive, and narrowed down the field to the perfect person for me - my husband. My strategy, while it may not have been the most direct route, worked.

Maybe I'm now applying the same strategy to my career. I know things I absolutely do not want in my career (I'm learning this every day) through my current and past positions. Eventually, after my "do not want" list is long enough, I will be magically pointed to the perfect opportunity. The most Daphne of all positions, where Daphne can be 100% Daphne and not be edited down to a lesser degree of Daphne-ness.

Great. I 'found' the man of my dreams (read: finally realized that he's the one for me) at 25 1/2 years old, and married him when I was 27. Prior to that, I had about 10 years of dating experience, all the while adding things to my list of least ideal mates.

Does it logically follow that I need 10 years of 'do not like' jobs before I narrow it down to the right one? And will the same be true that I already know the right job for me, but I just don't realize it yet?