“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question is what we will hear until we graduate from our middle school, and the wording just changes once we get to high school. It becomes, “What are your plans after high school?”
People keep on asking you this question when, in reality, you’ve been having a struggle answering your own question of “What Career Should I Take?”
At the same time, as the world is evolving, new generations are becoming more cautious in life and, at the same time, choosing things more carefully. Because of this, sometimes unknowingly, we’re already struggling with career indecisiveness. We get to be undecided about whether we should follow our own passion or choose a career that will always be safe.
To help you answer your questions about your future career, let’s first explore the cause of your career indecisiveness.
What Is Career Indecisiveness?
Career Indecisiveness or Career Indecision is simply defined by Kelly and Lee (2002) as the “inability to specify an educational or occupational choice”. This indecisiveness can be caused by many factors, such as low career self-efficacy or low emotional intelligence, but the most common are fear of failure and fear of commitment.
But if you’re worrying now that you might not get out of career indecisiveness, let me tell you to leave this out of your worries because most people in modern generations go through this at some point in their lives when deciding on their future career. Most of the time, such struggles will be resolved over time, especially with the help of some career coaching or career therapists, like us therapists at Shirley Therapeutic and Consulting Services, LLC. (Click here to seek career coaching from us).
Now that we know what “Career Indecisiveness” is, let’s now get to what you should choose. Your passion or another career?
Choosing Passion
From our other articles, we’ve already defined passion as “doing something you love”. Because this is something you love to do, your skills must be solid already, and this can give you a confidence boost. Aside from the confidence boost, having great skills in a specific field can definitely lead you to stay longer in a certain job or career. But following your passion when choosing your job or career may sometimes not help you provide most of your daily needs, like paying your bills, but it will make you feel alive and happier about what you do.
Choosing Another Career
The difference between having a stable career and not choosing where you’re passionate about is that the former will meet your daily needs, such as paying your bills, and it may also cause you to hate or dislike what you do. People who have the mindset of choosing a stable career and income have led them to stick with high-paying jobs and less freedom. The exchange then is that they feel safer in the long run because they’re likely to lose the stable 9–5 job.
As you have learned more about what you should choose, kindly remember that it doesn’t matter if you choose your passion or a stable career. What matters is that you are happy and content with your decision and that you have overcome your career indecisiveness trait. But if you’re still struggling with what to choose and need guidance with this, do not hesitate to contact us here. Shirley Therapeutic and Consulting Services, LLC is a diverse therapy clinic that can meet the needs of anyone. If you’d like to talk about your mental health or career, feel free to message us here.
References:
Difference between career and passion (with table). Ask Any Difference. (2022, February 1). Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-career-and-passion/
Farnia, F., Nafukho, F. M., & Petrides, K. V. (1AD, January 1). Predicting career decision-making difficulties: The role of Trait Emotional Intelligence, positive and negative emotions. Frontiers. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01107/full
www.uprisevsi.co.uk, upriseV. S. I. (n.d.). Career vs. passion: How to deal with it? GradJobs. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://www.gradjobs.co.uk/news-and-advice/career-vs-passion-how-to-deal-with-it
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1284&context=studentpub
