Uncle Ben: “Peter, these are the years when a man changes into the man he is going to become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into. This guy, Flash Thompson, he probably deserved what happened. But just because you can beat him up doesn’t give you the right to. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.”

Peter: “Are you afraid that I’m going to turn into some kind of criminal? Quit worrying about me, okay? Something’s different. I’ll figure it out. Stop lecturing me, please.”

Peter Parker was a regular college student just passing through the different phases of his life.

While getting stung by a radioactive spider, little did he know the 360-degree turn his life would take. However, when his uncle Ben tried to reason with him about the path he should avoid, Peter was resistant.

It’s only when he faced the harsh reality of losing his uncle based on a decision Peter made, did he realize the outcome of his actions. Also, keeping his super abilities a secret from his friends and family helped him understand the true meaning of what his uncle said to him.

Watching the Spider-Man movie got me thinking about the younger generation and their dilemma with selecting a career path. Their journey pretty much screams Uncle Ben’s wisdom of great responsibility coming with great power. There are several career options available but which one to pick?

Most parents want their child to realize the seriousness of the career they choose. Or, let me add – the career the parents believe is best for their child. However, with the crucial role of raising a child and planning for their future, there comes an even greater responsibility. Parents have to understand that the child’s path is not for them to choose, but rather for the child themselves. This is where parents need counseling and child, mentoring.

Whether it’s choosing a career or deciding what charity to get involved with, the choice should come from your heart. Ultimately you are the one who has to get up every morning and enjoy what you are doing, so make sure it matters to you.

~Dave Thomas

Choosing a career path is a great responsibility for one’s life. Once a career decision is made, going back on it years later can create a chain reaction of new but challenging events in your life. Many individuals enrolled in a course that was not aligned with their interests and strengths because they were not sure of what to choose or were a victim of peer or parental pressure. Imagine studying a course for which you have no interest. I am sure many can understand how this feels. For instance, pursuing Engineering because of its supposed future prospects and maybe a possible fat pay while the natural strength may lie in journalism or becoming a chef.

Many have also chosen to work in a job incompatible with their natural tendencies, simply based on the salary offered.  It’s okay if you like your job but if you don’t and are just doing it for the wrong reasons, it’s going to burn you out quickly and frustrate you even sooner.

As a result, you end up thinking frequently about a career shift and ultimately are caught in the vortex of continuous change in search of fulfillment. A frequent career shift in reality pushes you back. Right from learning or proving yourself in a new area, it also takes a huge emotional and mental toll impacting your different aspects of life – personal, social, family, or even spiritual. This itself is a lot to do when you’ve already invested the past 5 to 10 years in a job that frustrated you.

If this change is happening in the later years of life as you are working on building your family life, your child’s education, and so on. Just a few of these responsibilities can make you feel like you’re spiraling into a mid-life crisis situation.

This is where young individuals stepping into their college years need to undergo proper career mentoring. True Career Mentoring should also include helping them build their Spiritual Quotient or SiQ. These two elements, career mentoring and SiQ fit together like a glove in a hand. Mentoring the young ones to develop and enhance their SiQ will help them make a career decision not from the point of innocence fuelled by ignorance but that coming from heightened awareness about their own natural strengths and purpose.

The realization of their potential will help them to come to a firm decision about their career path. What to choose, what to learn, and what to become. They would understand and exercise their true power which is a gift that each one of us has been provided by birth.

Peter: “Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility’. This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I am Spider-Man.”

As the movie takes unexpected turns due to its thrilling events, Peter realizes that the decisions he makes will have consequences. This is how he matures into innocence through the awareness of who he is and what he wants to be.

In conclusion, SiQ and Career Mentoring go hand-in-hand with the aim of driving self-awareness. This realization is unearthed from within with the help of an accomplished Career Mentor. This is such an important step in life that many parents have unknowingly avoided, resulting in a huge risk for their child’s career and future.

Therefore, making sure that your child is confident about what they want to pursue is important. Or else, the future will be a dark reminder of what one should have done. It’s much like the lyrics of this song:

Tumble out of bed

And stumble to the kitchen

Pour myself a cup of ambition

And yawn and stretch and try to come to life

Jump in the shower

And the blood starts pumpin’

Out on the streets, the traffic starts jumpin’

For folks like me on the job from 9 to 5

Workin’ 9 to 5

What a way to make a livin’

Barely gettin’ by

It’s all takin’ and no givin’

They just use your mind

And they never give you credit

It’s enough to drive you

Crazy if you let it

9 to 5

For service and devotion

You would think that I

Would deserve a fat promotion

~9-to-5 by Dolly Parton