1) I got a full-blown head/chest cold in June after not being sick at all this year.
2) A totally unexpected position+benefits was resurrected at my work and I was told if I wanted it there was a 90% chance it could be mine.
Both of these things totally surprised me. Maybe most people feel like they deal in surprises all the time but I find that I'm rarely caught totally unawares. I'm one of those "lets-imagine-every-possible-scenario-and-prepare" kind of people so when something happens that blindsides me I fumble to figure out how I feel about this unexpected situation. I have a hard time reacting immediately to something and trusting that reaction. I want to analyze, look at things from all sides, and then deliver my thoughts. I hate feeling rushed into decisions.
So this new position at work was available like 3-4 months ago and then went away when priorities shifted within the organization. Suddenly, after some recent board meetings, the job came back. Since I've made my desire to stay abundantly clear, my bosses' bosses' boss (yep. it's like that) pulled me into her office, said, "hey, remember how we were going to talk about that part-time position? well that's gone. we're not doing that. good news is now there's this new one and, if you're interested in it, we'd be interested in you doing it." This new job is pretty far removed from what I was doing before. It's much more behind the scenes and I'd have a new supervisor and would be learning new software to do it. BUT (and hopefully it's a big but) there's supposed to be a lot more flexibility in it since they've unearthed it. Before it was pretty intense with data analysis, but I was told I'd get to mold it a little to suit the skills I've been building (namely facilitating conversations with nonprofits in the community and getting to work with organizations all over Central Texas that serve youth). I really like the work I've been doing and I'm attached to seeing it succeed. It would be hard to leave it entirely.
Most of that probably wasn't especially interesting to anyone but me. All of that background is just to say that now I'm faced with a choice to work in a new area, one I feel strays a little bit from what I'm passionate about. My question is: do I take this position because it allows me to stay in an organization I know and still contribute to work I care about if in a new, more backstage way OR do I go out into the world and seek a career that meets my desire to be out and about collaboratively creating change?
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