What Do You Think Back To?
In cooperation with a small group of online friends, I have recently been exploring what specific memories we think back to and what correlation — if any — there is between those memories and how we choose to live our lives years later, as adults.
Do "warm" memories from childhood and youth inform what we look for, as adults? Or is there no/little connection?
My exploring this particular line of thought is basically an expansion of the psychological theory that our most favorite hobbies/playtime activities as children can often be a substantial indicator of which professions/jobs will make us the happiest, as adults.
Maybe it sounds silly, but if you were the one always building the most elaborate sandcastles and roads for your toy trucks in the sandbox, there's a high likelihood that you would find a great deal of fulfillment in a profession that involves some kind of building things. If you were fascinated by flowers and insects and always looking at them, you might do well in a field where you are growing and cultivating something. If you immediately dropped everything you were doing to run up to the nearest pet that appeared, chances are you should be working with animals, in some capacity.
The underlying premise is that we are born with a sort of "inner knowing," that we typically don't give much credence to... but that might actually serve as a valuable guide, of sorts.
Unfortunately, we are often untaught such things in favor of our parents' and families' insistence that we take on more practical occupations.
Which begs the question of whether we should prioritize making a lot of money, or priroitize experiencing some measure of happiness or contentment.
Personally, I was always pushed in the direction of the practical, as reflected by both my University education as well as several of my early jobs. Jobs that I did with pretty much zero enjoyment and very little enthusiasm.
My thing was always "treasure hunting" and "turning nothing into something."
It took me a couple of decades of adulthood to really get to fully understand how those particular (quite niche) interests could also be turned into a way of life... not just a child's diversion.
And life has been better for that!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!
How about YOU? Did you have any favorite activities as a kid? Have you ever pursued something similar for work, in your adult life? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)
Created at 2026.03.28 00:26 PST
x1063/2297
Upvoted! Thank you for supporting witness @jswit.
That sounds perfectly logical. Unfortunately, I can’t say that applies to me at all.
As a child, reading was my only ‘big thing’ and I spent the rest of my time in the horse stable… I’ve kept both up to this day, but professionally I construct biological sewage treatment plants ;-))