Have you ever thought about why you will fail to have a great career? I had not until I came across this TED talk by Larry. Does it even matter if I choose a good career versus a great career? I think that depends on your personality: do you strive to be the best you can be or do you do what society wants you to do?
Many people tell you to choose a career that you are passionate about. But how is this even possible when you have to choose with such limited information?
Finding what you are passionate about requires a lot of research and knowing yourself well. I think it is hard to really know yourself when you are so young and have to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. I know when I graduated from high school I had no clue what I wanted to do. I decided to do Commerce because it sounded interesting and I had never studied any of the material before. It was a way for me to explore new interests. But now that I am finishing up my degree, I have explored commerce but I know there are many other things out there that I have not explored and that I would enjoy very much.
So if we are to figure out what our “great” career is, why are so many people not finding it? We are so reliant on others that we hold ourselves back for them and then push our children to do the same. Everyone knows what a doctor, lawyer and engineer do, but no one really explores these areas further or asks: “what else can I do with my talents that I may enjoy?” I know my parents have always told me “Find a job where you make enough money that you can live the lifestyle that you have come accustomed to live.” This is good advice but I would say bad advice at the same time. I believe that if you are very passionate about something and very good at it, you will make enough money to live off of. This should not be the motivating factor for what job you choose. I know many people who chose to pursue careers that people told them to do. They are making a lot of money but they are not happy.
Another point that Larry Smith touched on was being afraid to fail. I think it is interesting that he brings this up because everyone I know seems to be afraid to make mistakes and fail. In order to get where you want to go there are always going to be bumps along your path. Failing is part of life and you learn way more about yourself and the world by failing. However, school makes us believe that failing is wrong. You do horrible on a test and your parents get mad, your teacher tells you to do better. The people who do well are rewarded. And yes it is good to reward those who put in the effort but when you get out into the real world effort does not always equal greatness. I think there needs to be more acknowledgment of what we can learn from failing.
Design thinking is the first class in my many years of school where I have felt like I have been encouraged to fail. Coming up with multiple prototypes and seeing them not work and learning from why they did not work makes the end result so much more rewarding. I think you can say the same when it comes to trying to choose your career. The first job you get will never be exactly right, but you learn from this what you like and don’t and as a result look for those things in a new job.