Finding Wisdom In The Mind Of Your Ten Year Old Self

I read an article a while back about how you should choose your career. I think it was written more for the mid-life range of people, but don’t quote me on that one. (I can no longer find the article, so apologies I can’t link to it.)

The premise of the article is whatever you wanted to be when you were ten years old is the best fitting job for you in life. Many people follow other paths for a variety of different reasons. They attend college to study what their families expect them to study. They graduate and then go into careers that they were expected to go into. Many of them (not all) end up hating their jobs, their lives, and themselves. Many people will then turn to see what they wanted to be and do before they stepped into the real world of college and work. For some reason, according to the article, what you wanted to be and do at the age of ten turns out to be the sweet spot and that perfect career for you.

I guess what you wanted to be when you were ten is where your heart truly lies, where your passion actually lives. And it lives there as a truth hidden in your heart for the rest of your life.

What did you want to be when you were ten? Do you remember? Is that what you are doing now?

When I was ten, I was still drawing, but I was writing as well (poetry, mostly) and I was studying. I would study every book my dad would bring home for me. I read tons of books from the library. I read about every subject I could get my hands on from that time on into my later life.

I remember … wanting to be good. Religion was deeply important to me when I was young. My writing was also extremely important to me. Learning for me was exceptionally important. Helping people, reaching out to people, and reaching people, that was important to me as well.

Then we moved when I was about twelve and my life was a shipwreck for a long time. I had had plans before the move and not only were my plans thwarted, I felt as if I had been thrown away by my family as well. I felt adrift for a long time, even though I tried to continue writing. Any time I fell too deep into too many emotions, I stopped writing. Some days that still happens. It can happen that I don’t write for years at a time.

However, I still write. I study. I love learning for the sake of learning. Spirituality more than religion is now deeply important. Helping people is still something that I want to do. More than anything else, I want to help people, let them know they are not alone, and let them know others are there to help. Teach others that there are other ways to be, to react, and to explore.

I guess that is my thing. Now that I am older, I have a better idea of how to describe what I want to do: I want to help people learn how to help themselves. Because for my entire life I have been fighting to learn how to do that myself. I may never have all the answers, but I can and will and do give all that I can.

So, tell me, what did you want to be when you were ten years old when you grew up?