When you're young, everyone asks you what you want to be when you grow up. I wanted to be a marine biologist, or a journalist, or a lawyer. Maybe you wanted to be a firefighter, or a baseball legend, or an astronaut.
And then you grow up, and everyone stops asking what you want to be. After all, you already have a job, a spouse, a family. You're connected to a circle of friends and participate in your community. How much more grown up can you get, right?
My brain started munching on this question the other day when I was talking with my mom on the phone. I explained my recent adventures into freelance writing and my desire to share the psychology of personality and leadership with everymoms (and dads) everywhere. My enthusiasm bubbled as I talked 90-miles-per-minute about my goals and what I have learned so far.
(NOTE: People who know me will have no trouble visualizing this. I am a fast talker. A very fast talker. From the day I started talking, my parents had trouble getting a word in edgewise. Watching me squeeze information into the last 5 minutes of an Intro Psych lecture is a lot like watching 27 clowns squeeze into a Volkswagon Beetle. You get the point.)
When I stopped to take a breath, my mom asked something like "So are you going to be a hard ass like Dr. Phil or Dr. Laura or Suze Orman?" (No, of course she didn't say hard ass. My mom would NEVER say hard ass. But that's how I heard it.)
Her question stopped my talking and started me thinking. Hm. Hmm. Hmmm.
What a fabulous question!
But did I have an answer? Not really. Not yet. As a 38-year-old beginning writer I am still "finding my voice," as they say. (I've been speaking to college students and business clients for more than 10 years now, but I don't really think of myself as "Dr. Heidi.") So mom's question got me thinking that maybe we all need to stop once in a while and ask ourselves "WHO do I want to be when I grow up?" Of course I don't mean I want to be someone else. But I want to be someone better than the me I am now.
I may be grown up, but I'm still growing!
Essentially, mom was asking what tone I want to take with my audience. After some thought, my preliminary answer goes something like this:
- I want to write with the humor and warmth of a best friend
- I want to offer knowledge with the patience of a skilled teacher
- I want to glean everday insights and share them so others can see the lessons they're living, too
I'm glad I'm not too grown up to keep growing. Are you?
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