What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

Some day, I'm going to change! Many adults still are struggling to find out what they want to do. Oh, they're busy. But mostly they react and react and react, and never really set their own directions. They expend a lot of energy trying to make a living and spend little time making a life.

As creatures of habit, it's so easy to fall into the trap of doing the same thing over and over again, and hoping for a different result. Change is hard. It requires noble effort. It requires courage to step into some new territory. Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone. You'll never know your limits until you test them.

You need to learn to say both "yes" and "no" more often. Say "no" to the patterns and habits that are not getting you where you want to go. Say "yes" to the untried, to the new, to the scary. Try a new approach, not just once but eight or nine times in a row. Failure is not failure until you give up. If you don't give up, it's experience.

Experience life. Think about it. Have you ever figured out what you want to be when you grow up? To get a clear vision of what you want requires some hard thinking and answering some hard questions. You may know what you don't want, but do you know what you do want? If you're thinking money, you may be heading in the wrong direction in your thoughts. Money is a result, not a destination.

Here are some questions that may help you get a better idea of what you want.

1. What activities energize you?
2. What are you proud of?
3. What do you get complimented on most?
4. What do you yearn to do?
5. What do you like about yourself?
6. What are some unusual skills that you have?
7. What knowledge and life experiences make you unique?

Try to come up with three answers to each of those questions, and look for the common themes and patterns. Those are your strengths. These answers will tell you what your gifts to the world can be. When you bring your gifts to everything you do, you'll discover what you are becoming as you grow up.