Where did it all go wrong? It’s probably simpler than you think.

I was 21 when I took a careers test. I didn’t do particularly well on the mechanical stuff or the diagrams. And don’t get me started on the numbers questions. The careers consultants did their bit, marked it up, and sent me back their report. In capital letters, they wrote the words: “Don’t go into anything that requires data, engineering or linear thinking.”

Twenty-five years later, I woke up and found myself working with accountants and engineers, putting in IT Systems for banks. What could go wrong?

What did go wrong? Had I ignored all the advice? Had I started off in the right direction but veered off the road?

Yes (I didn’t listen) and no (it was more like a slow slide into a murky bog).

I did pay attention to my parents though. “Get a good job. Something safe with a pension.” Some of it was peer pressure. Some of it was fear of failure. Was I really creative enough?

So many of my Spoon by Spoon interviewees tell me the same story:

Teresa, wanted to do a fine art degree but ended up in events management. “The more years that went by the more scared I was to even try to do any art. Maybe I wouldn’t be good after so long.”