How do you want to live when you grow up?
If someone had asked you as a kid, “How do you want to live when you grow up?”, what would your answer be?
Being asked as a kid, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” has caused us to define ourselves by our jobs and tie our worth to career achievements. But I’m a believer that there is no one calling, or one career path for everyone. I believe that just like our transitions from grade school, to high school, to university, we can continue to have several transitions throughout our adult lives. It’s okay to move past the career that was supposed to make us feel “successful” forever and move towards something totally new and scary. But how do we do that?
I invite you to start thinking about what kind of person you want to be. Think about all the different things you might want to do. If someone had asked you as a kid, “How do you want to live when you grow up?” what would your answer be?
Thinking beyond the obvious
When I was a kid, I knew I wanted to create and build things. In my mind, that meant being an engineer. Which is fine. I love what I’m able to do with my software engineering background, but that’s not all I want to do.
When I started giving myself the opportunity to dabble in interests I forgot I had, I found myself experimenting with things that made me uncomfortably happy without feeling the pressure of having to commit to it. I call it “uncomfortably happy” because I pushed myself through the self-doubt and out of my comfort zone, and came out happy to have tried that thing.
That was when I realized that being an engineer wasn’t the only way for me to create. I’m now a YouTuber, blogger, and coach in addition to being an app developer.
Making the transition
It’s time to listen to that little voice inside your head that’s telling you you want something different. It’s okay to not know what that something is. Or maybe you do.
This is the time to challenge your current thought processes that are no longer serving you, discover what you truly value, and explore a new path for yourself. Trust the journey as you commit to getting to the next phase in your personal/professional life.
You can think back on the interests your younger self loved doing, but chose not to pursue because you were told “you could never make a living off of that”. Or maybe you already have a new career path in mind that would allow you to live life according to your new values.
Remember, you are answering the question, “How do you want to live when you grow up?” Not, “What do you want to be?”
Need help?
The next step is to take action. Completely rethinking what is possible for you isn’t something you have to do alone. Working with a coach will help you gain awareness of what’s important in your life. Start working towards closing the gap between your current circumstances and where you want to be in life.
Nothing in life is crazy or impossible. So go find your happy 😊. If you’re curious to learn more about coaching and how working with a coach can help you, schedule a free discovery session with me.