Did You Choose Your Career—Or Did You Inherit It?

So be honest.

How did you actually choose your career?

Were you one of those early bloomers or old souls who always knew what you wanted to do with your life?

Or did you inherit a career… or somehow end up here through a series of fortunate—or unfortunate—events?

Think about the real story.

Not the version you tell in interviews.
Not the polished answer.

The real answer.

You might have to go back further than you expect—to where the idea first started, how it grew in your mind, and how it ultimately led you to the career you’re in today.

And if your answer is:

“I don’t know… it just happened.”

You’re not alone.

But that’s exactly the problem.

Most People Didn’t Actually Choose

Most people didn’t choose.

They inherited.
They defaulted.
They followed the most obvious path available at the time.

They did what was expected of them—or adapted to circumstances—and built an entire life on top of it.

So here’s the question I want you sitting with:

Did you choose your career… or did you inherit it?

And more importantly:

Would you choose it again, knowing who you are now?

You Knew More Than You Think

Looking back into childhood, many of you will find this:

You knew more than you think.

As a child, I had a lot of ideas about what I wanted to be:

A synthesizer operator.
A psychic medium.
A psychiatrist.
A singer.

I used to play school in my basement—of course as the teacher—checking off assignments of invisible students.

At the time, it probably looked random.
Scattered. Unrealistic.

But it wasn’t.

What I didn’t realize then—and what most people don’t realize—is this:

Your early desires weren’t random. They were patterns.

Patterns of:

• Expression
• Insight
• Creativity
• Curiosity about people
• A desire to lead, organize, and understand

Those weren’t fantasies.

They were signals.

And most of us were never taught how to read them.

Pause Here

• What did you want before the world told you what was realistic?
• What patterns existed across your early interests?
• What part of you got edited out?

Because it didn’t disappear.

It just got buried under practicality.

Default Decisions (And Why They Don’t Hold Up)

As I got closer to college, I made what felt like a logical choice.

I went to the University of Iowa.

The decision wasn’t deeply examined.
It was available. Familiar. Accepted.

I figured I could get in—and that was enough.

And very quickly…

it stopped feeling right.

So I did what a lot of people do when something doesn’t fit:

I moved.
Different programs. Different schools. Different directions.

And then one day, some friends said they were moving 2,000 miles away—to San Diego.

Within 20 minutes, I said yes.

Packed my bags. Told my mom.
Two weeks later—

I was gone.

Poof. New life.

Instinct Before Strategy

Let’s be clear.

That wasn’t strategic.

But it was honest.

It was a decision rooted in something deeper—a pull toward something more expansive, more alive.

And here’s what matters:

Not all powerful decisions are linear.

Some decisions are identity-driven moves toward expansion—before you have the language to explain them.

Ask Yourself

• Where in your life have you made a fast decision that actually moved you closer to yourself?
• Where are you overthinking… when your instinct already knows?

You Were Never “All Over the Place”

For a long time, I thought I was inconsistent.

Like I couldn’t stick to one thing.
Like I was bouncing around.

But looking back, I can see something completely different.

Those weren’t whims. They were signals.

I’ve always been a reader.
I’ve been interested in psychology since I was young.
I spent years playing music—piano, flute, singing.

Even the idea of being a psychic medium—
which didn’t land well with my mother—

was rooted in something real:

• Intuition
• Sensitivity
• A fascination with the unseen

And today?

That’s still part of how I operate.

The Reframe Most People Need

You were never scattered. You were unintegrated.

Your interests weren’t random.

They were data points without a system.

Ask Yourself

• What have you dismissed as inconsistency… that might actually be alignment trying to emerge?

You Can’t Become What You Can’t See

I grew up in rural Iowa.

There weren’t many examples of:

• Career singers
• Psychologists
• Anything unconventional

So even if I had the interest…

I didn’t have the roadmap.

And this matters more than people realize.

Your decisions are only as expansive as your exposure.

If you’ve never seen it, you don’t consider it viable.

Ask Yourself

• Did your environment expand your options—or narrow them?
• Are you still making decisions based on that limited exposure?

This Was Never Just Your Decision

There’s another layer most people don’t question:

“You are going to college.”

Not a suggestion.
A given.

Over time, that becomes internalized.

You don’t even realize it’s not your voice anymore.

You just think:

“This is what I’m supposed to do.”

And that’s where a lot of careers come from.

Not alignment—compliance.

Ask Yourself

• Whose voice is shaping your definition of success?
• Where are you performing stability instead of pursuing alignment?

The Model Broke (But You Didn’t Update)

We were all sold a version of success:

Pick a path.
Stick with it.
Retire someday.

That model worked in a different world.

Today?

• Jobs change
• Industries shift
• Companies restructure overnight

I’ve seen highly competent professionals let go after years of loyalty.

Companies don’t operate like a family. They operate like businesses.

And yet people are still making decisions like they only get one shot.

So they stay.

Even when it doesn’t fit.

Ask Yourself

• Are you staying because it’s right… or because it’s familiar?

This Is Identity Drift

Here’s what’s actually happening:

You’ve changed.

You are not the same woman you were at 18 or 22.

• Your standards evolved
• Your interests expanded
• Your definition of success shifted

But your career?

Still reflects an older version of you.

So now you’re forcing a fit.

And it doesn’t work.

This isn’t confusion. It’s identity lag.

You’ve evolved.

Your career hasn’t caught up.

Ask Yourself

• Who have you become that your current career doesn’t reflect?
• What part of you has already outgrown your environment—but hasn’t been acted on?

The Cost of Staying

People think staying is safe.

It’s not.

It’s expensive.

It drains you:

• Mentally
• Physically
• Emotionally
• Spiritually

You don’t just feel off.

You start questioning yourself.

Your confidence erodes.
Your direction fades.

You might even look in the mirror and think:

“What is the point anymore?”

And on top of that—

You’re leaving money on the table.

Aligned, strategic moves create:

• More opportunity
• More autonomy
• More income

When the Cost Becomes Clear

I remember transitioning from teaching high school English into corporate instructional design.

At first, it made sense.

Better salary. Clear path.

But over time:

• The culture shifted
• The work felt restrictive
• I felt drained

It started costing me my peace and creativity.

And eventually:

The cost to stay became higher than the cost to leave.

So I moved.

Ask Yourself

• What is it costing you to stay?
• What are you tolerating that your future self would reject immediately?

This Is the Decision Point

At some point, insight becomes avoidance.

More thinking won’t solve it.

You need:

Awareness—and a decision.

Not reckless.

Strategic.

Ask Yourself

• Are you optimizing your current path…
• Or avoiding your next one?

Controlled Movement (Not Chaos)

This isn’t about blowing up your life.

It’s about increasing your options.

1. Audit

Look at your current role honestly.
Does it match who you are now?

2. Experiment

Test new directions without full commitment.
Conversations. Skill shifts. Exposure.

3. Position

Start aligning your identity with where you’re going—
not where you’ve been.

Final Question

What is one move you can make this week that increases your options?

Ready for Clarity?

If this is hitting—you’re not confused.

You’re at a decision point.

And the longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes.

The fastest way to move forward isn’t more thinking.

It’s accurate diagnosis.

Take the Career Burnout Signals Quiz (2 minutes):

→ Discover whether you’re experiencing burnout, plateau, misalignment, or outgrowing your current path
→ Get clear on your next move

Final Thought

You chose once.

Are you ready to choose again?