Reflections From a Country Girl

 

How many times have you heard this in your lifetime?  

When grandma and grandpa use to visit, they likely asked you this on and off. Maybe your parents asked. Maybe they already decided for you what they wanted you to become.  As a school counselor, I saw that happen often.  Sad but true. 

As a child in the school setting we likely heard this often, too. In high school, the question became an even more serious one. They say you change your major a minimum of four times in college.  I’m not sure how accurate that statement is but I did.  

I suspect some of us never got it right.  

After entering college, when we began to work in the first “real” job, we may have asked ourselves that question … except with a little different spin. 

THIS is what I want to do the rest of my life????  

They say you change career focus an average of four times in a lifetime.  In these days of uncertainty, I would not be surprised if that statement was true.  I, too, fit into that category….except I changed from being a coresman in an ice company to managing large federal grants for school systems and state agencies and on to running my own business. I bet you don’t even know what a coresman is as it is now a non existent job.  

Some of us work for years with some success and, hopefully, retire.  Then we may – as I have found myself recently doing – ask ourselves again the big question – What do I want to do when I grow up?  

My mother got sick and I was a caretaker for her the first six months.  Then it took me another three or four months to really get the newness of “retirement” out of my system and get organized.  I just finished throwing away and/or shredding 129 pounds of paper from my office.  I weighted it, just out of curiosity, before taking it to the dump.  Think of how many trees that is.  

It’s amazing what a little reality check can do for you when it comes to life choices.  

At the young age of 57 I am still asking myself the question…What do I want to do when I grow up?  People look at you funny when you say that. 

If you think about it, this is a very good question to ask throughout your life. It helps keep things in perspective that it’s never too late to make a positive change. 

I have narrowed down my choices. London; Washington; Atlanta; Paris; Aviano, Italy; Chicago; Columbia.  At least right now this is where I have applied for some spectacular jobs.  Most of them are fulltime seasonal or time limited positions.  Those appeal to me more than fulltime – permanent ones.  They look like adventures with a purpose and I am interested in seeing where that takes me.  

Then there is the thought that I might continue using my talents of motivational speaking and talking about my most recent book.  I also am completing the manuscript for my second one and getting ready to send it to a publisher.  That may take me in a totally different direction. 

One final direction takes me to being a “professional volunteer.”  To know I could take my time and talents to become a support to others who are out there working to make a difference.  That, too, is appealing. 

I was visiting with a close relative the other afternoon by phone and he suggested that, perhaps, I might be wrapping my self worth up in a job.  I pondered that question for a moment and said,  “I think it is more of a question of what adventure is out there waiting for me to come calling…more of a question of what do I want to do when I grow up.”

I submit to you that we may never stop asking that question.  If we do, we stop growing. We stop being passionate about who and what we are.  We stop making a difference.  

My wish for you today is that you always ask yourself the question “what do I want to do when I grow up?” as you move along through life.  I suspect it will help keep you focused on what and who you are.  After all, it’s never too late to make a positive change OR to confirm that you are in just the right place!

 

~ Joellen 

This entry was posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 5:00:am and is filed under Jobs & Careers, Life & Events, Living Life to the Fullest, Making wise choices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.