What do you want to become? A
question that often cause parents, and for sure children / adolescents a lot of
thinking and possibly even suffering.
Looking deeper in relation to this
question you can find it often puts a form of pressure on the development of
your uniqueness. Often you do not know at all what you want to become, and if
you know, there are only a few children who follow that path the rest of their
live.
When I take myself as an example, I
never had a pronounced opinion for the hospitality branch, as a truck driver,
in men's fashion, as an architect / constructional engineer, as an officer in
the fire brigade and emergency services, and as a master in crisis and disaster
management. And yet… I did it all and still use only some tiny little parts of
it. I've got lots of degrees and certificates on my pocket and I am now in the
world of personal development and transition processes and talent coaching in
and for people and organizations. Surprisingly, sometimes I say that it still
has a lot to do with crises and disaster management but in peoples personal lives.
Once my main interest was in
photography and in animals. And yes, that's still a bit of hobby but has never
become something in the direction of a career. Although, with photography as a
16-year-old boy, I still earned a lot of money by making pictures of traffic
accidents I heard off, listening to the scanner / of the Haarlem (my birth
place and place I grew up in The Netherlands) control room of the police, in my
bed/study room.
Actually, thanks to my parents who
offered me the opportunities, my life consisted of things that attracted and
attract me and in which I can live freely my creativity.
At the moment, I call it the Street
University of learning by doing. A fantastic experience of soul engagement,
living my mission, my calling, and to make myself and other people and
organizations happy and believe it or not… it also helps me, earning money with
it, to keep myself so far in finest health.
What a weird question actually;
"What do you want to be when you've grown up?" I basically followed
mathematics and science because I felt more attracted by them. During all kind
of testing and during following studies I was told to take time to think
careful about my future directions because there was no way back. Step by step
I should come closer to that goal and leave behind all kind of other
possibilities and career chances.
What I discovered during time... This
is all nonsense! Follow your calling and your mission and isn’t it very normal
that you do not know that calling or mission when you are in your teenage years.
In fact, dealing with this question of what you should be later on in society
for many young people create big limitations and even anxiety to fail. The idea
that you close doors behind yourself because you might not be able to do what
you might want to do in and out of your heart when you grow older.
The first answer that may be given from
childhood is that you want to become nothing at all but want to stay your
unique self forever. As if you're not good enough.
Do not focus too much on a goal
that's 10 or 15 years or maybe even more away. Do something you really like and
discover during walking your life path what's your purpose in life (always live
life first). Nice on and in a playful way. Get rid of the idea that you close doors
behind you with any choice. After all, isn’t it first and for all not first all
about YOUR happiness and YOUR pleasure to do (or not to do) with your
uniqueness what YOU want?
If you live your uniqueness and go
on living that uniqueness, to be and stay yourself and thus not to accept the
(soft) pressure of the outside world, the system, parents or anything else, you
will experience that it brings you enough money to live a life that suits you.
Follow YOUR uniqueness, be and stay
yourself (everybody else is already taken). Only that brings you and the world
around you the most happiness.
Frans Captijn
Host / Catalyst / Talenteer at Captijn Insight
Captijn Insight: “Catalyst in your process to new sustainable flow in life and work. Whether you are an individual, couple, team or an organization.”
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