Think about what to professionally in life is not only a matter of talent or deciding based on what you like to do. It is more often then not a balance between the environment that raised you and that you have contact with, the available opportunities throughout your trajectory and whether can you make a living, for you and the ones depending on you, out of this career.
First, as already mentioned previously, one of the main reasons a person can end up doing something he/she does not like, or does not have the talent for, is by a simple lack of opportunities. When there is not a viable path connecting a talent to a career, nor opportunities to create this path, due to social, economical or cultural constraints. And the responsibilities of adult life, such as paying bills and doing groceries are still there. Finding the easiest and closest available job may be the only solution. A striking and unfortunate example of this are the countless talents lost in areas of social insecurity and marginality, like the Favelas in Rios de Janeiro, Brazil. How many children had the dream of becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers? And how many ended up having to work in supermarkets and other low paying jobs just to guarantee basic conditions for themselves and their families.
Nonetheless, having financial and social conditions is also not a guarantee of a fulfilling career. Another source that definitely condition one’s trajectory is the external pressure coming from the family. Essential as we grow up, this guidance has the role of defining what are the values we stand for, and help us cement what are the thing we like and why we like them. The problem, then, comes when this guidance is applied in excess, and transforms itself in a sort of manipulation, where parents transfer their own ideas and objectives into their child’s mind. The outcome of this excess is a child that will follow their parents objectives in life instead of their own. There are many common stories of sons and daughters following their parents tradition, by enrolling in the same jobs, continuing their businesses, and bearing the weight of their legacies, without necessarily having a talent or liking it.
Both presented scenarios, while different in cause and context, will lead to unfulfilling professional trajectories. And unfulfilled dreams and unattended talents will lead to a myriad of negative effects in life, like dissatisfaction, lack of motivation, discontentment, and the list goes on. Because in the end, if we spend almost half of our lives working in something dislikeful, we will be spending half of our precious time in an environment that only feeds from our energy and does not bring fullfillment back.