Are Your Parents Still Influencing Your Career Choices?

No matter your age or position, your parents are probably still influencing your career path choices. As a career professional I see the impact of parenting and family work values on career choices for clients whether they are 14 or 64 years of age. The problem with parents being so influential is that their sometimes outdated paradigms about work may not consider happiness.

Creating future career happiness is up to you and before you can, you have to disce
the differences between your own ideas on the role of work in your life from what your parents taught you. Sometimes these are aligned but in most cases, there is a conflict. Here is an example that comes from a client who is working through this process with me:

What makes me happy:

"Work that is creative and has a lot of variety."

What my parents taught me:

"Work is work and you have to be practical."

Following his parents advice and ignoring his own intuition this client received degree in accounting and ended up finding the work of doing people’s taxes painful and tedious. By the time he arrived in my office, he was suffering from an array of stress related symptoms. After completing our program which included clarifying how his parents influenced his decisions and developing his own work attitudes he is on a new trajectory. He has begun an advanced degree in industrial design and plans to transition in to work creating recycled products. He is still working as accountant to get through school but the work is less stressful now that he has a new purpose.

In this process he has also come to appreciate the work attitudes his parents taught him that will continue to serve him in a positive way including:

"Be on time and do a bit more than is expected."

"Find a mentor at work that will teach you the ropes."

So as you develop your own awareness here are the three questions to consider:

1. What work attitudes did my parents teach me that no longer serve me?

2. What work attitudes did my parents teach me that I want to embrace in the future?

3. What are the new attitudes I want to develop myself for my future?

Answering these questions and developing your own authentic ideas will help you find and follow a career path that will bring you more happiness.