At some point early within our lives, we were given a choice with an array of options & opportunities. For most of us that time would be in the middle of secondary school, when we selected subjects of our choosing which best reflected our interests at that time. Yet that is a big responsibility with the benefit of hindsight. Yes, some of us were lucky enough to have the grades & the knowledge of what one would be doing for a career, job or simply make their way in the world. But by the same token, I’m sure a large number of you did not. Should you be written off your path in life because you did not know what you wanted, required or were simply not given the tools to succeed?
I would say I fell in the middle ground. I remember from my early teenage years having a clear idea of things I enjoyed & things I did not. When came the time to make my selection, unfortunately, hospitality proved to be the only course which has served me well & to an extent started me on the path of my current career. Don’t get it twisted, I very much enjoy what I do. Yet I do sometimes wonder if I took the right path in life. Like myself I am sure there are others out there feeling the same way. Unfortunately, because of the choices that were made, very early within our lives caused us to miss out on the tools of the trade required?
Yes, there are some jobs if you have a natural talent for it and that can happen to help, like within the athletic field. The only problem being if you’re more than 30 years old it’s going to be much harder. It is called a young man’s game after all. Some highly skilled positions like doctors, nurses or certain law professions, while not unobtainable at any age, do require years and years or hard work & dedication. Others who work in finance, no matter your age, require a highly functioning set of number skills. It’s one of those things I gather, if you got the skill, then you can do it. Yet if your brain works on different levels it’s hard to retrain your brain in that mindset. Not impossible, but challenging. I myself am currently wondering, can you change & how do you go about it. Everyone is different, so there is not one answer set in stone. However, there are a number of key points I can suggest. Find what makes you tick, set yourself targets, ask yourself can do these? What needs to be done to make it possible. Talk to the people you’re close with, to help you on your path. And just go after it, if you don’t succeed you can always know you tried, yet by the same concept you might find success & be happier with it.
Niall