If anyone asked me about my career as an author, I would say without hesitation that it’s my dream career. It gives me great freedom, lets me be my own boss, generates passive income, and is about as rewarding as a career can get with the appreciative emails I get. It’s perfect.
But if I could choose only one dream career, I probably wouldn’t choose this one.
I would likely choose dea sea submarine captain or board game maker to be specific, as games and the deep sea are perhaps my greatest passions. I began writing personal development content because I needed it. Changing my behavior was a problem for me, and writing was my way to figure out the solution. I’ve found many practical solutions since then and enjoy sharing them!
I think people and society in general can get a little bit too narrow-minded when it comes to life direction. We’re supposed to have one soul mate, one dream job, and one favorite color. But real life seems more nuanced and multi-directional than that, doesn’t it?
Maybe some people are only happy doing one thing for a living, with one person out of 7 billion, but I think they are in the minority. Most people can be very happy in a wide range of lifestyles (which encompasses different friends, lovers, pets, and occupations).
This Idea Helps In Two Ways
First, the idea that multiple life paths can be good for you will illuminate problems and encourage solutions in your current lifestyle. Why? It suggests it will be easy to find a better way! The narrow-minded view is the one that keeps us in miserable situations because that “one” path almost always seems elusive or impossible to procure.
If there was really only one path for you out of infinite possibilities, do you think you’d ever find it? Even if you’ve identified the one thing you want, it might be out of reach for a good while or forever. When I was younger, I was certain that I’d be an NFL wide receiver (I’m running out of time on that one).
I recently watched a really excellent special on Netflix called “My Octopus Teacher.” It’s about a filmmaker who befriends an Octopus and combines his passion for filmmaking with his newfound Octofriend. It’s a bizarre combination if you think about it.
Filmmaking + Octopus friendship = dream career?
He’d never imagine this particular path until he found himself on it—something he says in the film—but you can tell it brought him great joy (and viewers, too).
Second, the idea that multiple paths can be good will bring far greater contentment. Without that “one path” hanging over you, asking why you haven’t reached the mountaintop of your wildest dreams, you are free to explore and discover life’s other excellent paths without negative emotions telling you nothing is good enough.
I have no problem with people who choose one dream career and go the distance with it. It’s hard to imagine Tom Brady not playing football or Gordon Ramsay not being a celebrity chef. But for most of us, life is an open-ended and exciting journey of change and discovery. Let’s be okay with that, because in so many ways, it’s better (and more fun) than being prescribed one direction by yourself or anyone else.
I think I’m living the dream. But it’s not the only one I could live.
Sincerely,
A happy 35-year-old bachelor author with two cats who once thought he’d be a married NFL player, then an accountant, then a video game maker, then a stock broker, and probably other things, too. I’ve had many dream careers.
PS. Thinking of somewhat the opposite of my life now, I’d probably still be happy if I was married with dogs as a physical therapist. There are limits though. Surgeon? No. Kids? Not right now. Goldfish as a pet? Meh.
