Sat watching a programme last night on telly about ice (don't laugh it was actually very interesting) when I noticed that a large number of people had job titles that sounded very exotic and fancy - such as Glacieologist and Space Physicist. It got me thinking about careers, hobbies and what we all choose to do with our lives.
I kind of fell into my career through a series of what can only be described as "non-decisions". When I got my GCSE results I picked the 4 subjects I did best in and did them at A-Level and then I picked the subject I was best as at A-Level as my degree. Nearing the end of my degree I was offered a PhD and, being brutally honest, I only decided to take it because it stopped me having to make a further decision about what to do with my life. Upon finishing my PhD I had no idea what I wanted to do until it was suggested to me that I try my hand at Engineering - and I'm still there. I've basically got to the age of 31 without actually having to make a decision about what I want to do as a career.
Its the same for a lot of people and how does it happen that so many people fall into a career which they do rather than enjoy every second of? I suppose it starts at school, some people are lucky enough to know exactly what they want to do from an early age. I, however, had no idea and so was gently guided towards doing what I was good at, partially due to me own inability to decide or articulate what I enjoyed doing. There is no doubt that it is the responsibility of the individual person to do the research about potential careers but at that age you are relying more on the adults in your life - its probably no coincidence that my sister and I are a teacher and an engineer - just like our parents. You can end up not making a decision and simply falling into the easiest (or least taxing) route.
This mentality of doing what seems to be the easiest path and following what is essentially there in front of you can often transfer over into other aspects of life, such as hobbies. People can often become "bogged down" into a routine in life and when confronted about it, it seems that it is simply a general acceptance of "well thats what life is like" - almost like people have got to a certain point without really making a decision (hopefully the analogy I'm aiming at is becoming clearer here!!).
Often times people are heard complaining about not being able to do something in life due to lack of time or money and, whilst this is a perfectly valid reason in a lot of scenarios, I feel that it is also often a convenient excuse for some people who are unwilling or unable to get out of their comfort zone and try something new - there is often a way of working around the problems of time and money, granted I am looking towards this country when I make this statement rather than say somewhere in Africa where the challenges are greater and more life changing.
In the last few years I've tried rock climbing, snowboarding, salsa dancing, Italian classes and SCUBA diving and I can honestly say that the only thing that has changed is that I have stopped making excuses for not doing these things - in other words I have started to make decisions rather than relying on non-decisions to guide my path through life.
I think thats the general thrust of where I am coming from here, too often in life we seem to rely on decisions to be made for us and then we moan about the consequences. We should take some responsibility, go out and be brave enough to make these decisions and follow what we want to do and what we are passionate about. Stop thinking "why should I do something?" and instead think "why shouldn't I do something?". If we do this then it makes it much easier to follow our dreams and passions and to end up doing the things we love with the people we love - which is what life should be about in the end.
Till next time,
DT
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