What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

By Carlene Ashby

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.  The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”  ~Earl Nightingale

When we were little, and people asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, our answers were things like, astronaut, fireman, princess, Olympian, ninja, Barbie…you know, the usual answers.

As we get older, most of us lower our expectations to more suitable careers that are simpler to attain than becoming a nuclear physicist or a 7-foot blonde with impossible proportions and a pink corvette.

But what if your lowered expectations never quite feel right?  Or you just can’t find that one thing that makes you tick.  Many people come to me with problems that stem from the fact that they are not passionate about their lives because their careers, well, for lack of a more concise description-suck.

I have a few different thoughts on this.

A) Choosing one career for the rest of your life is archaic and boring.  Be open to changing careers.  It is okay to have a side job or part-time gig that you love which could turn into a full-time thing in the future if you wanted it to.

B) Doing what you love does not always have to be paid work.  Volunteer opportunities and continuing education classes are great opportunities to try out different vocations.

C) If you are not passionate about your life simply because your job sucks, then either you are working way too much, or you are not making enough of your down time.  The term work hard, play hard is an excellent suggestion.  Use your down-time for whatever you love, not just “relaxing” in front of the tv.

The obvious solution to career dissatisfaction is to search for a career that is more in line with your likes and loves.

What did you love doing as a kid?  It is usually a good indicator of what you’d enjoy now.  If you loved digging in the dirt, perhaps landscape design would be your next career.  If you loved sports, perhaps becoming a sports journalist or personal trainer would suit you.

There is always a connection to find, as long as you are open to finding it.
Your Prosperity Assignment Should You Choose To Accept It:

1.      Make a list of things that turn you on.  It doesn’t have to be something that you are good at, or have even tried.  It can be glass blowing, yoga, ultimate fighting, gardening, writing, dancing, hiking, accounting, painting, landscaping, whatever.  As long as it sparks a love within you. Circle your top 5.

2.      Research opportunities to pursue your top 5 loves.  It may be job opportunities, volunteer opportunities, workshops, continuing education classes, college courses or simply visiting a hobby store.

3.      Write out the steps you need to take to integrate your loves into your life.  Schedule each of these steps into your daytimer.  Be aware that your schedule may start to look very full.  That is what happens when you play as hard as you work.  The playing starts to take up equal space!

4.      Take time to dream about what you want to be when you grow up and allow yourself to keep following those dreams, regardless of whether or not your career cooperates!

© Copyright 2010 Carlene Ashby