Don’t Let Your Dream Job Disrupt Your Real Career
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, at least since I stopped being a private detective. But from the day I got my first writing job, I was already planning to find another, better job. For years, I have dreamed of my ever-changing dream job (usually some form of screenwriting because I’m such a cliché), always comparing it to my “real” job.
This constant mental comparison robbed me of the joy and potential of every job I took. This led me to abandon opportunities that did not bring me closer to my dream job – even though I was unable to complete the real work required to pursue that dream. Journalist Jess McHugh describes a similar case of dream job fever that caused her to be obsessed with the dream of being a “war correspondent.” She writes:
I still ranked each assignment with one rubric in the first place: Does this move me closer to reporting on conflicts, or does it move me away? I felt guilty when I wrote about subjects that simply interested me or had nothing to do with my long-term goal.
Since she didn’t get close to her dream job, it could remain a dream, so of course it always looked better than what she actually did. Finally, she got a taste of conflict reporting, covering the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks. After that, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to report conflicts – but she no longer idealized it. And it helped her get rid of the obsession.
For me, the big breakthrough was the realization that I already have what I really wanted: the ability to use my own style in my work and collaborate with smart people. I “saved” all my talent for a non-existent job, neglecting the writing for which I was already getting paid. (In the meantime, I found out that the scripts are less glamorous than they seem.)
McHugh’s article explores how our culture pushes us to find our dream job and how it can help us cling to our childhood notions of what the job is like. It’s good to be ambitious, but ambition must be grounded in reality. This way, we can chase the job we really want and not the fantastic job we only dreamed of.
Why I Finally Stopped Letting My Dream Job Dictate My Career Path | Human Repeller