Are You Fully Baked?

At what point do we stop growing up?

Are you the same now as you were 10 or 20 years ago? Not likely. You’re still you, but when you dig deeper, there are many things about you that have changed. In some ways you’re barely recognizable as the same person.

Over the course of two or three decades, we undergo significant change. We get married, divorced, have kids, relocate, and so on. All those experiences change our perceptions and how we respond to the world around us.

The song “100 Years” by Five for Fighting makes a great point in the first lyrics: “I’m 15 for a moment, caught in between 10 and 20.” Think of the changes from pre-teen to adulthood, both inside and out.

When we look back at who we were 10 years ago or more, we see the change. But when we look to the future, we believe that we are “fully baked,” and the rate of change will be slower and less drastic. An analogy of that is the progression of a butterfly from caterpillar to adult. When we reach adulthood, we’re done and finished. We see ourselves now as more or less complete, and any future changes will be minimal.

Once we reach adulthood, we believe the person we are today is essentially the person we will be for the rest of our lives, like an adult butterfly. But looking backward it’s clear that we continue to change, and at a greater rate than we predict. Research has shown that everyone from teenagers to septuagenarians predicted little change going forward, but when looking back saw much more than they expected.

Once we reach adulthood, we believe the person we are today is essentially the person we will be for the rest of our lives

This phenomenon has been dubbed “the end of history illusion,” and it’s an important factor in both personal and professional outlooks. In career terms, our experience and capabilities continue to expand and deepen over time. But our current perspective doesn’t allow for this, and we lock ourselves in place. Worse, we allow others to box us in as well; this shows up clearly when on a job hunt or thinking about our career future.

What do you see in your future in terms of growth and change? Are you complete? Or do you think there’s much more to come? Which would you prefer?