When I grow up...

Right now, across Australia, thousands of year 12 students are sitting their final exams. It’s a season that can come with a real sense of weight and pressure, especially because it so often leads to the question(s):

So, what now? What’s next? What do you want to do with your life after school?

It’s a lot to put on anyone, let alone students stepping into the next chapter of their adult lives… And it doesn’t really stop there. That same question tends to stay with us, resurfacing every time we feel lost or uncertain about where we’re at, whether we’re on the right path, doing what we’re meant to be doing. As if it were ever a fixed or easy thing to answer.

These personal and philosophical quests remind us of one of our favourite conversations on an episode of the Feel Better Live More podcast.

Here, Dr Gabor Maté speaks about Winnie the Pooh, and the moment Christopher Robin must finally set off for school, leaving playtime with his toy-friends behind.

It’s this ending that has often brought Gabor to tears, reminding him of his own journey through medical school, life as a physician, and the choices he made along the way.

This reflection is so powerful, not simply because it’s Gabor Maté, but because it says so much about a struggle we all share: the search for meaning and fulfilment, and how easily we lose our playfulness in the act of ‘growing up’. How easy it is to find ourselves chasing validation through work, making sacrifices around the things that matter most.

This isn’t to say our studies or our work doesn’t matter. Far from it. A career can be a labour of love, a genuine source of purpose and connection.

It’s more that we get into trouble when the professional begins to swallow the personal. When we prioritise achievement over fulfilment, over and over again, without noticing we’re doing it.

Now, coming back to our 2026 school leavers, we’d love to spotlight Maté’s retrospection and also offer some reassurance:

Don’t worry about what it is you want to do professionally, especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the options. There’s another way in. Who do you want to be when you grow up? What kind of human do you want to be, no matter the endeavour or adventure?

“What” points us to roles, careers, job titles - essentially the human-doing, all of which is important and necessary. But “be” is an underrated superpower, and it’s the throughline in our lives.

Maybe you want to be playful, curious, kind, courageous, generous or community-focused. Those are qualities you can bring to life in countless ways over the course of your next chapter. And they aren’t attached to any one path, they’re available on any and every route you choose.

Clarity around the doing matters, of course, and that will come. But we reckon it all starts with being, who you want to be as the lighthouse.

Because what’s the alternative? If you’re not exploring and experimenting from a place of intrinsic motivation and fulfilment, you’re much more likely to drift toward the things you think you should be doing, shaped by other people’s opinions and expectations.

So, whether you’re deep in exam prep and mapping out your next steps, or you’re supporting someone who is, why not try writing a To-Be list before a To-Do list today?

We rarely need much permission to get busy doing. It’s the being that tends to get forgotten, and it’s usually where the good stuff was hiding all along.