80. What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up? Childhood Dreams vs Reality

Welcome back to The Mood Booster Podcast. This week Charlie is fresh back from two weeks in Kenya and Dr Marcus is deep in England fever, and the pair end up in one of those conversations that starts as pure chaos and turns into something genuinely reflective, what you actually wanted to be when you grew up, and why so few of us end up there. Expect football banter, a fully committed Bolt singalong, and then a proper dive into psychology, the changing world of work, and why we lose our sense of childhood wonder. ˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍ 🎧 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞: Charlie shares stories from speaking to safari guides and rangers in Kenya about how career expectations there are shaped by what your parents did, which opens up a wider conversation about social learning theory and how much of our own career choices are inherited from watching our parents rather than genuinely chosen. From there the conversation moves into the changing world of work, why leaving university and landing a stable job feels so much harder now than it did for previous generations, and why more people than ever are building their own patchwork careers instead of climbing one company ladder for 40 years. The episode closes on something softer, the idea that children dream in wonder and imagination, and that as adults we lose that unless we are intentional about bringing it back. ˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍ 🛠 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞: Do not put pressure on yourself to turn what you love into your job straight away. Start with the things you loved as a kid as hobbies first, not career plans. Notice where you might be modelling your parents' choices rather than choosing intentionally. Make space weekly for one small thing that brings back that childhood sense of fun, whether that is horse riding, art, or just play for the sake of it. 📍 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝: Community and Connection, Introspection and Inspiration, Wellbeing and Joy 🔔 Don’t forget to follow and review, it really helps us grow  📲 Follow us for more: 👉 Instagram: @themoodboosterofficial  👉 TikTok: @themoodboosterofficial  🌍 Website: www.themoodbooster.co.uk  🎥 Prefer video? Watch this episode on YouTube @TheMoodBoosterOfficial