03 Sep 2019

We all have that mate in school who’s already got their entire life planned out.

The subjects they chose for Year 12 will get them into a specific course at uni, and they already have plans for an internship which will lead seamlessly into their dream job. Nobody doubts that this mate is gonna achieve these goals either; because they’re determined af.

It’s easy to feel envious of this friend. Here are us normal beings, virtually crippled by day-to-day choices like whether to have smooth or crunchy peanut butter for our morning toast, while this mate could probably tell you what they’re going to have for breakfast on any given day over the next ten years.

But is it really a good idea to have such clearly defined career goals while you’re still in school?

As humans, we change a lot. Our beliefs, values, and points of view are affected and altered by many of the experiences we have.

Sure, not every experience you have is going to shatter your current view of the world. But if you think about yourself from five years ago, you’ll notice that you’ve changed in more ways than just a few new hairs in those places we don’t like to talk about.

So maybe a past version of yourself was perfect for a certain career, but as time goes on that career might not necessarily be such a great match for the “new” you.

Too often, overly-driven people will spend years chasing their dream job only to find that they hate it once they get there. Maybe their expectations of what the job would be like doesn't match the reality, or maybe in the time it took to get there, their interests and passions changed.

It happens, but it’s not the end of the world. These people may have to re-evaluate their life and even start back at square one, but you can be sure that their new plan of attack will be way more flexible than the last.   

The problem with having tunnel vision about your career is that you’re not giving yourself any room for change. Sure, some people do go on to lead a happy life working the job of their childhood dreams, but not everyone does. Things can change in an instant and you don’t want to be left stranded.

I’m not saying that you should spend the rest of your life never committing to anything over three years away. Just prepare to be flexible. Before you commit to something, try out a bunch of things first so you can be reasonably sure that it’s the one for you.

Before you go to uni, take a gap year. Get a crappy job, go and see the world, get some life experience outside of school. Try work for free for ya mates’ parents and get a feel for different industries. Work for free in your dream job. How could you honestly know it’s your dream if you’ve never tried it before?

Even if you’re certain that you’re sure that you’ll never change your mind. Even if your heart is set. Spend some time closing all the other doors first, just to be sure.

It’s worth it to take your time. It’s exciting to work towards the dream, but there’s honestly no rush. Let yourself develop and grow as time goes on and try to be aware of any big shifts in your mindset. When it comes to changing your mind about how you want to live your life, it’s never too early. But depending how long it takes you to reach your goal, it could potentially be too late to start again from scratch.