What do I want to be when I grow up?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? What do I want to be when I grow up? Ever? It isn’t an uncommon question to ask. In fact, it might be one of the most common questions to ask. Some similar questions are: What do I want to do with my life? What is my work? What do I want to do
for a living?

There is no way around the fact that some people almost never ask this question of themselves because nothing could be more clear to them. These people have known their entire lives that they were going to be a surgeon. And guess what? They are surgeons. They took a path straight to their desired occupation and that is where they are and what they will be doing until they retire.

Some other people, in my experience, most people, however, have less clarity about themselves and their future worklife. There were subjects in school that they liked and disliked. There were subjects in school that came easy to them and some that seemed as if they were being taught in a foreign language. Maybe over a given ten year period there were twenty different jobs or careers that seemed the best fit and the most exciting. Maybe even after much certainty about a career plan, three months in one internship had made clear that that was no longer the plan.

There is a spectrum of certainty and clarity about career paths. On the one side lie those that never waver and have no doubt that they will be, say, a teacher, forever and ever and that they will love every minute of it. On the other side lie those that have absolutely no idea what they want to do. And, in truth, most of us lie somewhere in between these two extremes.

Residing in this middle ground between certainty and uncertainty can feel unsettling, especially, if in your situation it can persist for years, which sometimes is the case. However, while in this middle ground, the most important thing to remember is that no one else knows what you want to do with your life. Only you are the expert on who you are, your past, your likes and dislikes, your skills and gifts and what gets you excited. You know you best. So what, then, is the answer to the question that you may or may not ask yourself: What do I want to be when I grow up?

Only you can answer that.