Stresses in Your Mid Twenties : Career Calling

Stresses in Your Mid Twenties : Career Calling

First real slap in the face from life comes after you graduate high school. For the first time in your life, you’re now responsible for deciding the next step. All through your childhood the expectation was to attend school or play sports until you graduate high school. However, one of the most overlooked transitions is that time directly after high school (and comparatively after you graduate from anything after high school as well.) Whether you’re graduating with an Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate, Law Degree, completing certifications or internships the question remains the same, “What’s next?”

That’s the first question, but not the toughest to answer. After any of those are completed, you can easily take the next logical step to begin employment in that distinction. But does it end there? If you graduate high school and begin working towards a greater goal of, at some point achieving a higher level of education, life can often have other ideas for you. As you begin that uphill battle of working, supporting yourself and saving for additional education, distractions are constant.  And, in these distractions, we are sometimes able to find our true calling; they should not always have a negative connotation. It’s entirely possible that your true calling is not at all correlated with the idea you had constructed in your head of how you thought your career would unfold. I urge you to not allow this as a source of anxiety in your life, and I will tell you why a little later.

There are societal expectations, whether tangibly present or not, they exist. Expectations your parents have of you, expectations society has of your productivity and ambition expressed through your ‘career’, expectations about dating, family, marriage, pregnancy, and the list goes on. I often wonder how many college students pursue higher education because they enjoy learning. Or how many people work to earn degrees because they honestly feel drawn to the field they will be entering upon completion of that degree (ex. For me to be an Accountant after earning a Bachelors in Accounting). How much of our career path, pursuance of education, and path after high school is determined by society’s expectation, and how much is truly what you want?

In my experience, I received a Bachelors and accounting certification, and began work in the field of Finance. Although intellectually challenging and mentally challenging, I still question whether or not it is my true passion. I ask the same questions, “Is this what I am meant to do; Is this my purpose; or Is this the best way for me to leave the world better than how I found it?” I do enjoy what I do; don’t get me wrong. I still find myself asking these same questions though..

I guess there are a couple stances on this. First implies you are meant to do a certain thing; fated if you will to follow a certain path. It also sort of insinuates you have a purpose or something to contribute to society (I believe everyone, no matter how small of a contribution, has a gift or something to contribute towards the betterment of society).

The second scenario is that someone doesn't have one way of fulfilling their purpose, but instead has many avenues for achieving the same end result. There isn’t one path, but many alternative options one can take or follow to help contribute to increased standard of living to the human race. In this case, it isn’t about finding the single correct path, but finding the most utilitarian path, or even the path that allows you the most happiness while completing it.

I feel like it is our job as humans to use the life we've been given from our parents, or our caretakers, to leave society [as a whole] a better place than when we entered it. Whether that be through teaching, positive influence, invention, expanding human knowledge, streamlining, focusing on equality of all people, bridging the gap between cultural barriers, expanding horizons, leading by moral example, allowing for differing viewpoints and helping form us into a more advanced, culturally connected and synchronized race, we all have a responsibility to produce an outcome through the course of our life.

That being said, the expectation doesn’t lie in following a path determined or expected by your culture or predecessors, but instead should be formed by your passion and gifts. Each person has gifts, and harnessing and mastering these gifts can be the toughest hurdle to cross. Be confident knowing you have a gift. Knowing what it is is half the battle, so take your time in determining what that gift is. If you feel insignificant or indecisive, you are not alone. Everyone goes through the same stage of panic when determining what path to follow. Don’t be afraid to exercise patience through this stage.

I like to compare life to driving. You can do it two ways. You can constantly stress about when will I get there? Am I in the right lane? Will I be there on time? Can I make this red light? Why is the jackass in front of me (w/ Sonoran plates no doubt) driving 20 MPH under the speed limit? Can I pass this person and still get back into the lane I need to be in? Can I speed and watch for cops so I can still make good time?

Or, you can calmly drive, enjoy the sunrise. Crack the windows and enjoy everything around you. Take in the cool crisp morning air and think about your blessings. Be thankful for your car, because it isn’t riding the bus or walking. Relax and listed to Childish Gambino “Because the Internet” and get your thoughts in order before the work day.

My point is, you could go through life stressing and having anxiety, or you can relax and enjoy everything around you – Often times the end result is the same. The two scenarios above wouldn’t get you to work faster, but your mindset through the experience affected your mental and psychological state of mind. You control those factors; enjoy your experiences and allow yourself time to find that purpose, because once you do the time you spent waiting won’t seem so bad. You’ll have the remainder of your life to pursue that passion, and those 3-4 years in your twenties that you spent stressing over it, won’t seem like anything at all.

Congrats to anyone who just sat through my jumbled thoughts. Hope everyone has an amazing week J