One of the most recurring questions we get asked as children is: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? or WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WORK AS?
And it’s repeated over and over at different stages of childhood and youth MANY TIMES before we truly have to start making a decision or choosing a path...
Now, as an ADULT AND A MOM, I understand this question and the insistence behind it more than ever, but from MY perspective, it has two sides:
As a MOM, it’s crystal clear to me that I want the best for my children, and I would love to help them find what fulfills them what they can naturally flow into and what empowers them! But then, in some way, the responsibility intensifies for me to give the best of myself as an ADULT, so I can first understand how I lived and continue to live my own journey toward what I do today and compare that with the world we live in and the one I believe is coming for them… so that I can truly OBSERVE and GUIDE them to their greatest potential!
I also now realize that to know what fulfills us and what we’re good at, we have to try many things especially when they’re little and the FEAR of failure or what others might say is not as present or conscious as it will be later… So, we’re working on discovering and EMPOWERING those strengths that make them so unique!
On the other hand, as an ADULT, many more questions and ideas come to mind, such as:
- Why did we take it so lightly when we were young?
- Why didn’t anyone tell us there were other options or fields to explore?
- How can you consider, as a young person, the implications that come with choosing a profession and, ultimately, a life path?
- Why isn’t managing money, investments, time, etc., a mandatory foundation—regardless of what you choose to study?
- Why do we believe it will be easy and that things will just fall into place over time?
And many, many more!
But then we come back to the present moment to action and to what we can do or share about what we’ve learned so far...
As part of this project, we’re going to explore different dynamics, careers, jobs, and ways of living out what we choose as our WORK, so we can learn together what this question really entails: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? and WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR A LIVING? And which aspects are important to consider when making this EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DECISION or rather, I’d call it DECISIONS!!
Because today we live in a world full of CONVENIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, and OPPORTUNITIES, but we’re also in a GLOBAL and VISUAL world where sometimes seeing so many options can feel a little OVERWHELMING—and our expectations or sense of what we deserve can become bigger than reality.
What do I mean by this? There’s a saying: DO WHAT YOU LOVE to be happy. And while I love that phrase, I believe we need to add some context and options, because I think you can:
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DO WHAT YOU LOVE, or
- If you don’t “practice what you love,” WORK OR PRACTICE WHAT YOU CHOOSE
In the first case, DOING WHAT YOU LOVE doesn’t mean it will be easier or that everything will magically fall into place. It requires WORK, CONSISTENCY, COURAGE, PERSEVERANCE, A PLAN, and TAKING THE LEAP!! And then keep going, going, going… but it still allows you to exercise your strengths and talents.
Or, in the second case, if you DON’T PRACTICE WHAT YOU LOVE, you can still WORK OR PRACTICE WHAT YOU CHOOSE, which in turn allows you to live happily and achieve the personal goals you set for yourself! This also doesn’t mean it will be easier or harder—just that knowing it brings you the means to reach and live the life you want can generate the same level of HAPPINESS as “doing what you love.”
Let me give you an example by sharing a little personal summary:
As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve always LOVED exercise, sports, and how they make me feel. So, I looked for ways to somehow work in that field:
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Fitness instructor—teaching classes, etc.—but I didn’t feel comfortable. I preferred doing it rather than teaching it.
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Designing fitness equipment or products—but for that, I’d have to live in another country where you can truly make a living from it.
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Opening a gym—but then I was told the gym business works because people don’t go, or that it can be a good side business driven by passion...
I ended up studying industrial design, since I’ve always considered myself creative and respectful of art. But I was still clinging to returning to something related to fitness—because of the idea of DOING WHAT YOU LOVE!
I worked in organizing sports events, without caring much about time or financial compensation, and finally ended up working for a company that sold sports products. There, I discovered this incredible job (in my opinion, haha)—BUYING athletic wear—and I was thrilled: the ideal job! Travel, design, sports!! But then, at an age when other factors come into play—like love, family, and the factor of TIME!! And wow, how important that time factor is!!
So, I decided to embark on a new adventure with my husband—one that, although unrelated to exercise or sports, connected me with the artistic and creative side of things and brought me countless adventures, learning experiences, growth, companionship... and more. New people, perspectives, and ideas entered my life, and I discovered a different aspect of controlling and managing TIME!!
And then I DECIDED that, even though it wasn’t what I had “PLANNED” or envisioned in the idea of PRACTICING WHAT YOU LOVE, I chose instead to LOVE WHAT I DO. And believe me, it challenges me and excites me every single day—so much so that it makes me question the search for and definition of the IDEAL JOB. That’s why I want to put things into perspective and create this space that helps inform or at least share a little bit about everything that can be at stake when asking ourselves this question:
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What do I want to be?
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What strengths can I empower in myself to develop my skills and live my version of the IDEAL JOB?
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What actions do I take—or can I take—that make me happy?
Not just “what do I want to be,” but rather WHO AM I? And therefore, what can I do that leads me to live as who I am and/or who I want to become?