There's been talk around the internets that one of the problems with This Current Generation is they've been told they can be anything they want / follow your bliss / follow your passion, and it's just not practical advice. ...I think there might be some truth to that.
Following goals like learning to grow, become a better person, etc. -- those goals are pretty much always achievable. And following your passion as a past-time, that's often achievable (though still not always possible.)
But can everyone become an astronaut? No. You might not have the intelligence, the physical fitness, money for the needed education, etc.
Below is the current hit by a Canadian band (lead singer won Canadian Idol eons ago, and did it just to promote his band) -- and that's the theme: I can do anything. Don't let the naysayers get ya down.
But it's not true. We can't do anything. We can try to do anything. But the idea that everyone can translate their passion and their talents into a full-time paid job (which is usually the unspoken assumption here) is wrong. Which is why placing so much of our identity in our jobs is probably a bad idea. And possibly something very North American.
3 comments:
I've thought about this for years. I'm amused that you used the astronaut example, because I wanted to be one as a child, when I still thought I could. But even before math kicked my butt, I discovered that astronauts couldn't have the poor eyesight I had.
I think we do people a disservice by telling them they can do/be anything they want. I tried really hard to do higher math; I can't do it so can't go into engineering or architecture. I'm a great writer, but unless I get really lucky, that will have to be a sideline for me.
So, yeah, it's probably time to burst that bubble before the shock of the real world kills them all.
Yeah, but we can always write stories where we are all those things, and more ... and still be home in time for supper!
Oh noes, what if you're bad at math and writing! Then you can't write yourself as an astronaut!
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