What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Some people never do quite decide, and that’s all right

Photo by TRICIA ELIS on Unsplash

Are you one of those people who never had a clear idea of what you wanted to do or be when you grew up? For some people, the choice is simple. As long as they can remember, they have always wanted to be a teacher, a lawyer, or a brain surgeon. Easy peasy, right?

Except for a lot of people, myself included, there were always so many fascinating choices that I could never quite make up my mind. When I was in kindergarten, I had a neighborhood friend who was sure he wanted to become a pilot. Another one always dreamed of becoming a flight attendant, and many were sure that their paths to true happiness led down the roads of academic or athletic stardom.

I was never forced to accept my parents' choice of what they thought would be best for me, so I dodged that bullet. But well-meaning parents often cause a lot of trauma and resentment in their children. I see it often, and in the end, the children always end up resenting that they really wanted what might have been, instead of being forced down the road their parents chose for them.

Parents need to lighten up and realize that what worked for them is not necessarily what works for everybody. They regard their children as extensions of themselves instead of full and separate, autonomous people in their own right. This hardly ever works out for either side.

The children feel resentful towards their parents, and the parents don’t get the gratitude they thought they deserved. Instead of a slam dunk, it’s a case of contrasting goals colliding and causing totally unnecessary friction and resentment.

Some people deliberately choose not to pick up a special life goal early, instead adopting a lifestyle of picking and choosing as they traverse the road of life. The truth is, there are no hard and fast rules. Lots of people change careers in midlife, switch jobs like shoes, and walk away from situations that they no longer enjoy.

And there is nothing wrong with that. We are all blessed with different wants, needs, and desires. We all should have the option of pursuing our dreams. Even if they don’t work out, we can at least have the satisfaction of having tried them out.

No guilt, no regrets, no looking back. You can’t make a square peg fit into a round hole. Just go with the flow, because we all know ourselves better than anyone else possibly can.

There are also those rare people who are so multi-talented that they can’t pick just one area of life to follow. Why should they have to? Live and let live, and let others enjoy their otherness.

We are all put on earth to fulfill our contract with ourselves, and we know what we want when we first reincarnate. But sometimes, things get lost in translation. People get sidetracked, forced to take low-paying jobs they hate, or feel trapped in an upward spiral, like they're being forced to climb the stairway to heaven. All that glitters is not gold.

Don’t make the mistake of trying too hard to measure up to others' standards, no matter who they are. In the end, we are all born alone, and we all die alone. What we do in between is the true measure of our lives.

And make no mistake, we all have the right to live our lives in a way that makes us happy. We are all our own bosses, and we all have to learn to love ourselves, lumps, bumps, bruises, and warts. How else can we fulfill our true destinies anyway?

Photo by Khush patel on Unsplash

Life was meant to be lived, to be loved, to be lasting and enjoyable. Do whatever makes you happy. If you are true to yourself, you will live a longer and happier life. You will never be disappointed, dissatisfied, or disenchanted.

Only you know what’s best for you. Self-love is the key to happiness in life. We are all connected…