Choosing a career or occupation that you want to work in for the rest of your life is quite a daunting task. Especially when people around you are telling you that you need to make this decision by the tender age of eighteen. I know from my own personal experience, that this is something a large percentage of people grapple with. They feel that if they do not know what they want to do, they will start to fall behind in the occupation that they may have some semblance of interest in.
Thankfully, most people will choose to do something that interests them, even if that interest is still in its infancy. Some people however, become crippled with fear and anxiety about moving into the professional world. They remain in a constant state of limbo where they will work a casual job 1-3 days per week, then tell their friends and family what they are considering doing and the game plan they have laid out to execute that plan. Fast forward 6-12 months and they are still in the same position they were a year ago. Its ground hog day and they do not have the courage to end the unmotivated cycle they have found themselves in.
If you know someone like this or if you are reading this and feel a sense that I am talking directly to you, then I want you to ask them or ask yourself this very important question. This one question can clear up so much doubt, confusion, and anxiety about your current situation. What is the most important thing I can be doing in my life right now to give it intrinsic value and meaning? This may seem trivial when read at first, so please read it again. This one question should be able to push you in the direction that you need to go. I want you to really think about it, write down the answer that you decide on and take the first step toward achieving this goal.
Have you heard of the snowball effect? If not, I will give you a brief explanation. The snowball effect is a metaphor they use in psychology to explain that one big goal may seem like too much for one person to handle, but when broken down into smaller more achievable goals, it is then observed in a more positive light and processed in your brain as “achievable” rather than “too hard”. We have all experienced this phenomenon during a hard workout when you feel as though you cannot go on any longer and the trainer yells out “5 more seconds” or “1 more rep” and you get that sudden burst of energy at the end, knowing that the finish line is in sight. Nothing changed other than your mindset. This is what happens when you set small achievable goals when working on a big goal. Each time you tick off a small goal, you get a rush of excitement and motivation – which propels you towards the next small achievable goal - and in turn ever closer to the big goal. With each small goal ticked off, you gather more and more momentum until you accomplish the big goal. The snowball effect.
Now keep in mind that this is not a fairy tale. This important thing that you want to do must simultaneously provide you enough income to ensure that you can live a happy and productive life. In a study done by Angus Deaton and Daniel Kahneman, both of which are Nobel Laureates in economics. They determined that money buys happiness up until a certain point. They based their study from the survey results of 450,000 people and concluded that money buys happiness up until roughly $75,000 per year. Now the exact number is not something I want you to get hung up on.
Essentially what the study established was that once you made enough money to keep the debt collectors at bay and pay for all of your essential items – then money made a significant difference in your happiness - relative to those who are living pay check to pay check. Once you started earning more than what is essential for day to day life, your overall emotional well being levelled off. Now this does not mean that you should not strive for as much wealth as you can earn. In fact, there was a correlation between high incomes and life satisfaction. Meaning when you look back on your life, how happy are you with the outcome? Nevertheless, in terms of day to day emotional happiness, a high income did not seem to be a main contributing factor for that.
I say this only to illustrate that you cannot just “do what you love” if that is an occupation that cannot generate wealth. Nor would I recommend you do a job that you absolutely despise for an exorbitant amount of money. You must find the balance between money and happiness when choosing a career. One notion I will add however is that when you really love something and are passionate about it, even when the median income of that profession may be on the border line of what is considered “liveable” - I would recommend that you go for it with everything you have. This is because I believe that when you love something that much and work really hard at it – you will move well beyond the average income for that particular profession.
Now this does not mean that whatever you choose right now is what you will have to do for the rest of your life. Not everyone will work in only one field for their entire careers. This I think is one of the main causes for all the anxiety when deciding what you want to do as a career. You do not have to pick the perfect job on the first go. It may take some time for you to work out what it is you really want to do and what you are super passionate about.
If your priorities change over time, or if this chosen occupation turns out to be one that bears no fruit, it is nothing to be ashamed of or upset about. You have not “wasted X amount of years of your life”. You have gained valuable skills that can be used in your next undertaking. You have acquired precious life experience. You have equipped yourself with more knowledge to turn your focus towards your next goal, with a better understanding of what works and what does not. More importantly - you will better understand what it is you really want to do in life.
It is essential to always have an aim and a goal. Even if you are not sure if it will pan out, or if it really is the thing you want to be doing for the rest of your life. I can promise you this. Aiming at the wrong thing, is a hell of a lot better than aiming at nothing at all.
