“If you want to be a grocer, or a general, or a politician, or a judge, you will invariably become it; that is your punishment. If you never know what you want to be, if you live what some might call the dynamic life but what I will call the artistic life, if each day you are unsure of who you are and what you know you will never have to become anything, and that is your reward.” Oscar Wilde
There was a time when a young boy of mine wanted to travel and work with endangered species. He also wanted to own a snake and passionately supported campaigns such as Save the Rhino. The only time he sat still was when he was watching David Attenborough on Planet Earth. That young boy is now a young man who went off to college a few years ago to study Animal Behaviour and Conservation but ended up working with plants. Yup! Sometimes our dreams morph into something quite different from what we intended. Five years on, he is heading off to Zambia this month to fulfil that dream he had back when he was small.
At the end of last school term, I had the pleasure of being present at a Senior Prize Giving. A past pupil gave a wonderful, inspiring speech, mostly about how she failed at various ventures before she achieved the goals she wanted to achieve.
Starting out isn’t easy. Starting over isn’t easy either. Finding fulfilment and the right career path in life can be difficult, whether you are leaving school or a seasoned professional. The truth of it is, we can start over any day we choose. Knowing this can take the pressure off, but to prevent being stuck in a job or career you detest it’s a good idea to consider your skills, passions, experience, character, values and motivators and noting all things that make you unique. What drives you? What do you look for in and outside of work? Who you are should be central to your decision about what you want to do for the rest of your life, and it is possible to change your mind along the way.
As a young child, I wanted to be an air hostess. It was all that lying on my back in the deep grass watching the Boeing 747s blaze a trail of white smoke in a clear blue sky. I wanted to be on every aeroplane that passed overhead to wherever I decided it was going. Thankfully, I didn’t follow a career as an air hostess. I would have hated it, flying back and forth from the same country, morning, noon and evening without seeing daylight. What was I thinking?
I was thinking about my love for seeing the world, not the nitty-gritty of serving folk in an air-conditioned cabin. Later, I wanted to be an actress. I was an amateur one for twenty-five years in three different dramatic societies. Even though I absolutely loved the stage and the craic, the experience gave me enough sense to realise a professional career in acting wasn’t for me. I wasn’t footloose and fancy free. I didn’t want all that ‘hanging around’ waiting for a break. I couldn’t see myself shacked up in some city apartment not knowing where my next gig was coming from. It didn’t suit my personality, my nature, my love for family and friends around me. All that experience helped me decide from the inside out.
It’s never a good idea to consider something from the outside in. To understand what you want in life you need to think from the inside out. You can pick any day to craft your life one step at a time. Be open to possibilities and follow your heart. For as long as your pulse beats on this planet there will always be new opportunities, a way forward. If they excite you, grab them with both hands. You’ll never have to work a day in your life if you love what you do and you will never have to be anything other than be your precious self.