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Forget the Job Titles — Here’s What You Should Have Said About Growing Up
What do I want to be when I grow up? It’s a question we have all been asked as kids, often multiple times. And back then, my answers were grand and ambitious: medical doctor, scientist, author, Egyptologist, astronaut and maybe even a superhero (don’t ask me how that was supposed to work).
But now, as I am in my 30’s and life has taught me its lessons, I wish I had given a different answer — an answer that’s not tied to careers or achievements, but to something deeper. Deeper than just certain job titles that will be forgotten once I am gone from this world.
I wish I had said, I want to be happy
Happiness — one of those things we all chase, but often in the wrong places. We think it’s in the next job, the next vacation, the next purchase. But what I’ve learned is that happiness isn’t out there. It’s in the small moments, a good conversation, a sunny day, or a call from your loved one.
It’s a journey and doesn’t get stuck to just one thing. If I could truly grow up to be happy, it would mean prioritizing these moments and realizing that happiness isn’t found in external factors but is a feeling we can generate within ourselves at any time as that power lives with us.