Mother: I am a doctor, and I know the stresses of this field. I don’t think its worth it. I don’t want you to give the NEET exam!
Daughter: I am interested in Science, not sure about medicine. I know many doctors who are successful mom.
This was the essence of the conversation we had with a concerned #parent who is a qualified #doctor herself. Having gone through the trouble of becoming a doctor, practicing, and raising a family, she feels the burden and the trouble are just not worth it. She is adamantly against her daughter taking up medicine as a #career.
The daughter is very clear of her liking for life sciences and #research. She is listening to all her mother is sharing patiently, she is not sure what careers can be pursued if not for medicine. (We give her some tips and information here.) However, somewhere deep down we are not sure if her mother’s reasoning is good for her. Does her mother’s struggle necessarily mean she will also struggle without feeling successful?
It is true that many Indian working women report carrying a higher burden of work, child rearing and family responsibilities often with negligible acknowledgement from family and friends. I hear this often in my sessions. This can translate into stress, burnout and a lack of interest in work and life in general. If this trend continues for long, a person has trouble pursuing their dreams and career aspirations and may not be as successful as they wanted.
As a parent, you wouldn’t want your child to go through the same nightmare of a hectic job, gender imbalance in work roles, lack of social support and the negative consequences of the same. However, here is a place we can pause and think once more. Isn’t the world changing at a pace that is almost #disruptive in spaces? We tend to assume that everything we have gone through will be identical for our offspring, the society, the family, the gender differences, the lack of recognition, the financial struggle etc. nothing will change. Is this a fair assumption? Is this a helpful assumption? Think!
As a parent are you projecting your experiences and fears onto your children or are you sharing your journey and learnings? If you are sharing your journey and learnings, it can be very beneficial and serve to inform, educate, and share perspective.
Can we share in a way, where we acknowledge ourselves as humans who also got some things right and some things we missed based on our own context and limitations? Think about it.
As I close this week’s article, I am sharing some tips that might help you share your career journey more holistically and empower your teen to take decisions that are more aligned for them.
Ask yourself….
1. What did I do as a professional that helped me? skills, certifications, attitude to work etc.
2. What more could I have done realistically given the context of my life?
3. What is my real fear? Is this fear valid in today’s age?
Happy reflecting. Enjoy the journey of helping your teen align careers and life!
Unlock true potential
Leverage LifeVidya’s Ikigai Coaching to transform challenges into opportunities by unlocking true potential and re-pivoting life as well as career.
