Week 2. WHO Do You Wanna Be When You Grow Up
I LITERALLY HATE THIS QUESTION from my childhood. But it has to be answered.
When I was 3, I wanted to be a garbage truck driver (the best observation experience in my tiny town!). Then I thought about being a tram driver (there’s a trend here, isn’t there?😁), a school teacher, a rescuer. A sportsman and coach—for a long, long time. A sports psychologist or doctor. And then a sports journalist. An editor. A marketing manager. An event manager. A blogger.
I never wanted to be someone with just one profession for my whole life. I wanted to learn and try as much as I could.
📕 One day, I read a book by Barbra Sher called“Refuse to Choose”
It was full of stories about people like me—people who don’t want to choose just one profession or hobby. They try and try, getting huge inspiration from something new and deep disappointment from refusing it and moving on. It was obviously me, and I was crying on the plane just reading this book. It was such a relief!
Now, I want to CLEAN UP THE MESS in my life. And of course, my career is one of the big questions—for me and for thousands of people. So, last week I tried to find myself, describe myself, and make a complete map of my life. I even painted a mindmap. At the end of the week, I wrote a diary entry (I’ve wrote about my way to write a diary last week) with a question:
WHO I WANT TO BE IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS?
At least half of the writing was about my hatred for this question. But maybe it’s just because I’m frightened of the responsibility and the fear of making another useless choice. I don’t want to fall into the trap of getting an idea, starting it, and then abandoning it. That’s not the circle I want to draw in my life. So I need a plan—one that’s flexible because of the current events in my country and the world.
And here is the list — my pick of advice on how to at list plan a life
I tried some and write down notes
You can use hypothesis and TESTING
Try something new for 90-100 days. This will help you find what’s yours and what’s not. Ask yourself questions, look for new ways.
⭐ 7/10Testing is always a good idea for me. The problem is planning it and finishing it. Most of these tests ended in a couple of weeks.
Think off the future LIFESTYLE you want
Do you want to work in an office or prefer freelance? How much time do you want to spend with your family? Do you want to learn a new language or skill?
⭐ 8/10I made notes about my lifestyle. I love this exercise because it helped me understand my boundaries and partly my career wishes. Family is my priority and it impacts my job picture.
Write a DIARY
Reflect, set goals, write down your questions and results. Feel yourself, dig deeply. Answer specific questions. Return to the most important questions, read and write new thoughts on them.
⭐ 8/10I love this tool; it helps a lot when I’m in the mood to write. The key point is to set a question for every entry
Here is a list of 30 ideas on this theme
Take a career or strengths TEST
t might seem unnecessary, but it can be helpful even in your 50s.
⭐ 6/10I tried some tests, but the results always depend on my mood or current events. After spending time in the forest, I want to work with plants. After a big event, I want to communicate more. So it’s not accurate for me.
Watch your PRIORITIES
Write as many life goals as you can. Then pick just 5 from the list. These will be the main targets you should work on permanently. Others will be distractions.
⭐ 9/10I tried this during the week. It’s a good tool to focus and purify your checklists. I picked some goals—they’re well connected and seem achievable over time. It made me confident and relaxed about my future.
