How does what you wanted to be when you grew up still influence your career decisions?
Do you ever think back to what you wanted to be when you grew up? Paul Harvey at INSEAD researched how mid-career professionals were influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by their childhood dreams and fantasies.
Maybe you thought you'd be an astronaut or explorer because you like seeing things no one else has. Or you played at being a lawyer because you liked persuading your siblings to your point of view. How might this creative play (of "phantasy careers" as Harvey calls them) have influenced your career choices and satisfaction decades later?
Harvey found that 'participants unconsciously sought out professional roles that correlated with the attributes of their phantasy careers' (Harvey in Florent-Treacy et al., pg. 79).
Through talking to the interviewer and looking at significant work roles they'd had, the study participants saw the links between the attributes of their childhood role-playing and their later career moves. 'Once the attributes and motivations of a fulfilling career were brought into conscious thought, the insights could be used in future career decisionmaking processes as mid-career professionals contemplated transitioning towards more meaningful work' (Harvey in Florent-Treacy et al., pg. 79).
You might also find a 'newfound understanding and awareness about [your] motivating factors could aid [you] in making more effective career decisions' (Harvey in Florent-Treacy et al., pg. 87).
So, what did you want to be when you grew up? Tapping back into how you thought about that job as a kid, what were the essential attributes that drew you that job? And finally, to what degree does your current employment offer you those attributes?
There might also be an argument for finding satisfaction outside work by incorporating some of those childhood aspirations into your hobbies. For myself, I felt good when I could learn something new and share it with others and I liked the structure and routine of school days. This led me into teaching, but it also fuels my interest in the research and writing I do for this blog.
Further resources:
This Working Life podcast on ABC Listen - a good interview with Paul Harvey and a summary of his research
Those Unfulfilled Childhood Dreams? They May Still Be Driving You from INSEAD - another summary of Paul Harvey's findings
Childhood Dreams by Legal & General - an article that looks at childhood dream jobs then and now
If you want to talk about your career aspirations or explore new career directions, book a one-on-one session here.
