Knock knock! Is your childhood dream still here?
NUWers, let’s have a reflective Monday. Do you remember what your childhood dream is? Was it to grow up becoming a superhero? Perhaps being a doctor? Or become someone famous? Remember how as a child we are the know-it-all and know exactly what we want to do when we grow up. Well, until life happens, and we start to get stuck.
Research in 2019, shows that only 4% of adults managed to do their childhood dream job while all 96% failed. 64% of them wishes they can be doing their childhood dream job yet 43% felt that they lack the talent, knowledge, and opportunities to do so. Isn’t it funny how as a child we are never feared to dream big and trust that we can do what we dream of but when we grow older, we start to query ourselves? The same research also found out that if you are not doing the childhood dream job you are twice likely to be unsatisfied with your job.
Perhaps it is time to rethink our job, is this really what you enjoy doing? Reality does put a lot of stress on us, as finding a job that we like and a job that can make a living is difficult. Famous writer Annie Dillard once said ‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. For many of us, a large portion of our days is spent at work; in fact, the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime.’ That’s around 1/3 of your life spent working, so are you happy? If you are, then congratulations, you are already at a better stage than most of us. We spend so much time working, so we should find a job that makes us happy and yet able to make a living. Do not give yourselves excuses anymore and act now to find a job that makes you happy, it could be your childhood dream job or something new, what is important is the job that makes you happy and satisfying.
1. Take ownership, rethink, and decide where you want to be
We only live once, therefore do not spend time doing things that don’t give us the most pleasure. Think carefully about the current job you are doing now, are you treated well in the workforce? Are you happy with what you have achieved and what you are going to achieve? Thus, where you are now, is it due because of yourselves or is it because of others (e.g. friends and families)?
If it is because of others, then it is time for a change. As we should not live a life to please others but instead to please ourselves. Head out and experience a life that is made by your own choices.
2. Plan your goals and what you want to achieve
Draft out things that you want to achieve in life, it could be from buying your own car or apartment to achieving a higher title in your job or immigrating to another country. For whatever it is; after you draft out the things you want to achieve, now is time to think about what you need to do to achieve them. It is okay that after a certain time your goals shifted but drafting down can give you a clear direction on what to work for.
3. Believe in yourself
The goals you set might be difficult and a long way from where you are now. It is okay, just trust yourself that you have the ability and patience to achieve them. Don’t let your own goals fear you, just take a leap of faith, go ahead and just do not turn back. The first step is the hardest, once you pass it, every step will be easier and when you think back you will realize what you are worried about was nothing at all.
4. Quit the excuses
“I don’t have enough time”, “I don’t have the knowledge and skills set”, “I can’t do it”, “ I don’t have money”. Do these excuses sound familiar? I am sure there are many more. Quit these excuses, if you really want to achieve the goal, you must put all the excuses aside. Don’t find excuses again and delay your plan; if you keep doing so it will be too late and all you have left are regrets.
5. Shut out the haters
When you take the leap of faith, it is most likely that you are stepping out of your comfort zone and along the way, there will be a lot of people that tease you, do not trust you, scold you and so on. Don’t let them affect your motives and passions in achieving your goals. Remember to take ownership of your own life and make your own decisions accordingly, and never have others decide what to do ever again.
These few steps are nothing new, you might have heard them a lot of times. Why not act now, so next time when you hear it again you can proudly say I made it. We are looking forward to hearing from you about what your childhood dream job is and if it is still something you want to do now. If not, what do you want to achieve in the upcoming future? Come share with us NUWers!
