Never stop asking this question

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

When we’re young, we are constantly asked what we want to be when we grow up and we spend a large part of our early life working to figure out the answer. But then one day, often in our late 30s or early 40s, a funny thing happens…

We realize we’ve already grown up.

Perhaps that realization comes with attaining a certain job, house, car or general level of financial success and security. Or maybe it’s when we accept that we now get hurt more easily when we play with our kids! Either way, we’ve realized that we are now the grown-ups in the room. 

And you know what else happens if we’re not careful?

We stop asking ourselves what we want to be.

When that happens, our lives tend to default to more of the same. On the surface, this probably doesn’t seem like a bad thing. But the problem is that now we assume what will make us happy and fulfilled are the same things we see our social circle buying and doing. Without even realizing it, we’ve given up our sense of autonomy, freedom, and choice and exchanged it for social norms. 

Can’t you just feel the midlife crisis bubbling to the surface?

That’s why it’s so important that we continue to ask ourselves what we want to be – even when we’re already grown up.

Our personal answers will rarely be the same as when we were younger. After all, we aren’t the same person we used to be. We change and evolve and how we want to live, what we want to do, and who we want to be can and should evolve, too.

So, don’t play a past version of yourself. Don’t simply ride out that midlife crisis. And don’t wait until retirement to do the things you want to do. Instead, keep asking yourself, “what do I want to be?” and add more enjoyment to your life right now.