When I Grow Up

What do you want to be when you grow up? We ask that question of ourselves and each other over and over. I’m 32 and still trying to figure it out.

The problem is we think we have to be a professional “something.” The focus is wrong. The goal shouldn’t be to become a something. What we become should be a symptom of finding our core purpose.

Living life fueled by purpose will always turn you into something. Maybe a doctor, contractor, actor, athlete, waiter, or any other profession you can think of. But, the title we attain is such a small part of the bigger picture of who we are becoming. Often, the title becomes a death sentence.

I chose a safe career. Job security became more important than happiness. I’ve come to realize, that mindset robs three groups of people. You, those that love you, and all the people who would have been impacted by you had you pursued your passion and found your core purpose.

Finding these spiritual truths isn’t easy, nor is pursuing them once we’ve found them. I don’t think it should be easy. If it was, we’d miss out on the life experiences that uniquely qualify us to speak from our eventual platform. It would rob us of trial and conflict, both of which will grow us given the right perspective and mindset.

This morning, my 4 year old told me what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her answer was “a Human.” Wow. That hit me.

We follow what society tells us is good and honorable. We set our life’s course using culture as our map. We marry the path and deny the voices trying to pull us towards passion and purpose.

I admit, I resisted for years, and the pull still scares me at times.

Scale back the vision. What do you want to be?

We should all answer, “A human.”

I want to be a human with feelings. A human who is able to give love and receive it. Able to trust, have their heart broken, grieve, and move forward still open to trust. I want to feel.

Humans weren’t designed to be cold, numb, and isolated. We weren’t meant to find success in a career. We were meant to find our own heart and unlock its potential. We were meant to infect the world with our joy.

We can’t do that if we aren’t pursuing purpose and we can’t do that unless we first find our humanity.

For those reasons, when I grow up, I want to be a human.