Is the pressure to decide on a career on? Do you feel like you should know exactly where you are going and what you are going to be doing…but you aren’t sure…and that not-knowing is stressful and causing you anxiety?

Take a deep breath, my friend…I’m going to give you my perspective on why you don’t need to worry so much about your career decision.

I begin by asking you this one question:

Who are you satisfying by having to give the answer to?

Seriously?

Well, sometimes it’s the education system you are satisfying. Often there is pressure in school to choose courses and programs and a major that funnel you in particular direction, and so you have to choose the arts or humanities or sciences, or applied skills and have at least have the minimum requirements needed to satisfy the prerequisites in case you decide to go one route or another. Often this is what is being asked of you in high school, which is really often too early to know for sure. Sometimes college or university is too early, too. So to answer the question: the education system can be one system you are trying to satisfy with an answer.

Sometimes, it’s your parents or family.

Sometimes it’s your parents or family you are satisfying. Some parents have their own agendas and expectations of you (and for you), and want you to go in a certain direction that is their dream for you and not necessarily your own. The pressure can be real and can come in the form of financial promises, family business expecations and traditions to uphold. There are all sorts of reasons your parents or family might be who you are satisfying by making your career decision.

Show me the money.

Sometimes it’s finances and circumstances you are satisfying. Let’s face it: you need money, and the job or career you choose fulfills the finances and so you go that route – not because it’s what you really want to do –  but because you feel you have to for the money.

And all of these reasons are real and valid and I am pointing them out just because knowing what you want to do for a career is not an easy answer for every person. Sure there are some who have a vocation, a calling and know from the time they are small that they want to be a veterinarian or a dancer or an airplane mechanic or whatever…and that’s wonderful!

You are not your career.

And here’s another thought for you: YOU are not your career. I really don’t like it when adults ask children and teenagers what they “want to be when they grow up”. It’s not fair. It begins the comparison problem that we adults carry with us sometimes the whole rest of our lives…what grades did you get, what promotions, how much money do you make, what prestige do you have …blah blah blah.

I wanted my children (and I helped to raise 4 of them) to be decent, kind, compassionate, productive, respectful and loving human beings. What they do for a living is besides the point. And guess what? They are. Every single one of them.

You are not defined by your career. Unless you choose to be.

You are not limited to one career in your lifetime.

Here’s another thing to remember: you can have more than one. Nothing is a waste. Perhaps you spend time satisfying the wishes and expectations of others and get onto a career path you really aren’t that interested in, or you think you will love it and after doing it for a while you decide you are not so into this after all.

And guess what? It’s OKAY!

I once interviewed a woman on my podcast who was a medical doctor, then decided to go be a lawyer, then decided to write a book, produce a podcast and she trains in the Brazilian Martial art called capoeira! Her book is called Quitting By Design and what I learned from her is that she has many things she loves to do and is interested in and none of her journey was a waste. You don’t have to stick to one thing and you don’t have to know the entire road map when you are first starting out!

I had no idea I would end up as a pastor and a YouTube content creator and career coach. Nope. I wanted to be stage actor. I ended up in healthcare and then I taught in healthcare and taught communication skills and medical terminology and anatomy and physiology and a bunch of other courses to college students for two decades and then I took coaching training and then I went and got a Master’s degree in leadership and graduated from seminary and became a clergy person…I have had a wild ride, my friend. And yet, here I am. Whodathunk?

You can watch this article in video format here (in case you are a visual learner instead of a reader.)

Did you enjoy this little “pep talk”?

I hope this little pep talk has relieved the anxiety around making a career decision a bit.

Let me know in the comments below if any of this has resonated with you and know this: You’ve got a good 40 years or more of working time to do in a lifetime, God willing, and so you want to do work that satisfies you…that fulfills what you want to be doing right now, and that might change as you learn and grow and experience life and find new and interesting things to study and new opportunities present themselves. I hope you can breathe a little and see the career things as an adventure, and that you can at least some of the time, enjoy the ride.

Jenn