Even with varying incomes, parent combinations, family dynamics and cultures, most of us were taught the same “secret to life” from the moment we started attending school. What was the secret? That in order to succeed, one must get good grades to get into a good school so a college degree could be earned, followed by a respectable career with health benefits. Then, after working in said career for the majority of our years, we get to retire and learn to live off of a smaller percentage of income than what we have grown accustomed to. There’s no doubt that this sounds familiar to most.
In a large number of high schools, there are required classes that usually consist of English, Math, Science, and various other ‘scholarly’ subjects. What is rarely taught in any class is emotional intelligence, financial literacy, belief in oneself, interpersonal relationships and other skills that would make adulthood much less shocking. Not only that, but some years ago, creative arts were also removed from various school systems due to massive budget cuts. This caused the removal of programs such as music, art, woodshop, photography and even home economics. As humans, we are extremely diverse with a wide array of interests, talents, and abilities. Tapping into your calling involves listening to the heart; taking the time to ask yourself what would fulfill you and how you can contribute to society. Unfortunately, the lack of creative opportunities in early years paired with virtually no education in goal setting and decision-making make it challenging for an 18-year-old to know the direction they want to take upon graduation. They simply aren’t equipped. Here are a few common justifications for sending a young adult to college when they have no clue what they want.
- Go away to college for the experience
- You’ll figure out what you’re interested in once you start your classes
- If you don’t go to college, you’ll end up flipping burgers
- Just take general education your first year and change your major afterwards
- If you get a degree, you’ll be more valuable and get paid more
So, off to college they go. There are a few outcomes of this path. Perhaps it will lead to a degree earned that turns into a profession (inside or outside of the major). Maybe there were multiple changes of major along the way. Or maybe the person never graduates. Either way, the debt is accumulated, and the student loan rates are high. Does taking this path get people to the success they once dreamed of? Are they happy? Does it give them time freedom and financial freedom? Do people that follow this path get to spend time with their family when they want, take vacations when they want, answer to themselves, and have no restrictions on their lives? The likely answer? Probably not.
Make no mistake. There are people who dream of being a doctor, scientist, engineer, or another profession that indeed requires a college degree. The point here is not upon the value of a degree. The point is that the vast majority of college attendees aren’t going into it with a dream. They’re going into it as a forced decision they made when they were barely considered an adult. A decision they had to make because going to college is “what you do”. They picked their life-long future career from the catalog of course majors that was sent to their house probably based on which one sounded the best to them (at AGE 18) and that they could get paid the most for. There’s a huge number of people who graduate college and don’t end up working in their field of study, or even worse, they do end up working in their graduated field, but they hate it.
On one hand, the entire school system needs to be revamped. On the other hand, for all the people reading this who followed a similar model, what are they all supposed to do now? Here are a few simple steps for changing the trajectory of your life.
- Increase your Awareness (read more books, self-study, connection to a higher power).
- Define what you want. Ask yourself where your wants come from.
- Decide to go after what you want. Overcome your limiting thoughts.
- Be committed. A decision without commitment is just a wish.
- Hold yourself accountable with integrity or get an accountability partner if needed.
- Focus your intention on your goal (what you want) every single day.
- Stay disciplined. Follow through even after the mood has left you.
- Envision your future self with your future goal accomplished and feel gratitude.
Knowing what you want is the first step towards getting it. Because most people have taken the path that wasn’t of their choosing, when asked to think about what they really want, they can’t. They just tell you what they don’t want. These people genuinely don’t know what they want because they haven’t thought about it for so long. Or maybe they haven’t thought about it at all. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle, a job, or a situation that you didn’t really want for yourself. You were influenced by someone else. Maybe family. Maybe mentors or teachers. Someone guided you on your path, teaching you what they had been taught. As a young adult, we tend to do what others want or what we think others want, in an effort to please them. This is especially true for those that don’t really know their own path and feel pressure to make a decision. Years later, we can end up miserable in our careers, stressed, struggling to make ends meet or just feeling emotionally drained. That’s when we think we are stuck and have no other choice than to keep on going… Some have a belief that they’re too old to change careers or go off searching for their passion. They think it’s too scary to take risks. Here at Krystal Longmire Elevation Center, we can assure you, it’s never to late to change your life for the better. Taking risks can lead to some of the most satisfying and enjoyable outcomes. It’s the staying stuck where you are if you’re unhappy that’s the real risk. That risks your mental and emotional well-being, and since our bodies are tied to our emotions, it risks your physical health as well.
If the steps in this article seem easier said than done, check out my Awaken your Inner Power program. You’ll find an excellent exercise on allowing yourself to dream along with other tools to help you feel better from the inside out. Stay tuned for other programs that will be coming soon.
