3 Reasons Why You Can't Decide What To Be When You Grow Up
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? As a kid, that was such a fun question to answer. The sky was the limit. You hadn't yet dealt with feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty so responses like the first astronaut to visit Mars, a world-class chef, a doctor who cures cancer, or a New York Times bestselling author did not seem far-fetched or underappreciated.
Fast forward to your 20s when someone asks you that question: you begin sweating, questioning yourself, and/or showing them a funny meme about millennials not knowing how to hold a job for more than 6 months.
Why is that? Why don't we still have that same childhood gumption to be or do whatever the heck we want? I'll tell you why:
1. Your dream job doesn't exist.
Could you imagine yourself when you were 7 years old (considering you're in your 20s or 30s now) telling someone that you wanted to be a social media manager when you grew up? Probably not because that job did not exist when we were 7. With the advances in technology happening so rapidly, there are opportunities for new jobs popping up on the regular. It could very well be true that your dream job does not exist. Or better said, does not exist in the capacity that you want it to. Good news, though - with the help of the Internet you have the freedom and the means to create your dream job if you're bold enough to sit down and actually figure out what you'd like that to be.
I never would've thought that I would be selling digital planning tools + speech-language pathology resources for a living. But here I am! All thanks to the good ol interwebs.
So if your dream job doesn't quite exist, create it!
2. You're scared to make the wrong choice.
My dad always told me that a job to him was something that you go to, clock in, do your time, clock out, then go home and enjoy your life. I am not wired that way. I could not imagine going to work and doing something that I am not passionate about. Or living for nights and weekends. Nope...can't do it. What I do for a living is a big part of my identity. Not because I find my worth in it, but because I want to be passionate and invested in whatever I'm spending a big chunk of my time on.
Some people feel pressure when choosing what they want to be when they grow up, because they don't want to make the wrong choice.
For those people I say, EXPLORE! Don't be afraid to switch paths. That's another beauty of our generation - we have the means to change our career paths because we have access to the internet! This allows us to read, research, and learn from people who are doing something that maybe we want to do.
3. You have job FOMO.
CAN RELATE. I want to do ALL THE THINGS. When I commit to pursuing a career path, I have fear of missing out (FOMO) on the paths that I didn't choose.
I want to remind these people (and myself) that some things are okay just being a hobby. You don't have to turn everything you do into a career.
Consider looking into becoming an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur has allowed me the freedom to dabble in a variety of different job settings which reins in my FOMO-ridden thoughts.
For everyone - remember, your job does not define you.
You are not stuck.
You can make changes.
You can try new things.
Working is essentially exchanging energy: investing your time (energy) in exchange for money (energy).
Here's to not panicking the next time someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up 💛
