How Are You Supposed To Figure Out What To Do With Your Life?
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The greatest question any of us could ask, outside of the big metaphysical questions that everyone ponders on from time to time is – what should I be doing? Sometimes, this is clear as day. If you have children, for instance, then your number one, totally essential, and fundamental priority is to take care of them. This gives you meaning as a parent.
The second question we must ask is ‘who is coming with me?’ This can help you decide what kind of relationships you may like to foster and who you’re loyal to on a daily basis. That can color the activities you get up to and the priorities you hold as a crucial necessity.
That said, when exiting full-time education, or when trying to fix your next move after a job loss or another life stage is finished, it can be tough to answer this question for good. That said, we don’t think you need a perfect answer to follow pursuit and learn exactly what you need over time. In this post, we hope to discuss that and more. Without further ado, let’s begin:
What Gets You Out Of Bed In The Morning?
It’s a good question to ask. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What inspires you? For some people, it might be that they absolutely love attending events with their friends. Might it be that a career in event management and production could help you chase that feeling of coming together at a special time and place for an important happening, while you also get to exercise some authoritative control over those proceedings?
As you can see, sometimes our hobbies and interests can help us build a functional career outside of vague dreams of wanting to be a ‘writer’ or another form of artist. Note that this last effort is not a waste of time, but it can be the only thing people think of when they consider exactly what hobbies they could curate a career in.
What Are You Naturally Skilled At?
What are your natural skills? It might sound like a silly question to ask because it’s unlikely you’re skilled enough to forgo training, but it can certainly help you decide where your natural strengths are and how you might wish to make good on them, potentially elevating your success in a certain field.
For instance, if you find that you can relate to people easily and you have insight into social dynamics with a healthy dose of interest in psychology, working in a social care capacity might be perfect for you.
If you’re adept at arguing and debating points on a case-by-case basis while considering the optics of doing that, and you love digging into the details of a story, then legal work might be worthwhile for you.
This isn’t to say a natural proclivity has to decide your career direction, but it can certainly suggest the potential for success if you get started.
What Opportunities Exist?
It’s always good to ask what opportunities exist in the first place because this can help you decide on a path to take, even if that’s not necessarily a prolonged path. For instance, it might be that an opportunity opens itself up to you in a certain field, and while it’s not the exact role you were looking for, taking that on can help you avoid rejecting something great in spite of something perfect.
Furthermore, considering opportunities can help you be more realistic about what’s out there for you. For instance, those who may wish to work in the media environment may need to move to a different location where the concentration of studios and production houses are based, as are a majority of the job roles. Keeping that in mind can help you ensure that you’re not just wishful thinking, but are also remaining as informed as you can be regarding the plans you put in place.
Keeping that in mind can give you a goal to work towards, which may also aid you in developing a competent approach. A little extra help too, such as MBA admissions consulting, can allow for you to reach in the best possible directions based on your skillset and potential.
Hobby Or Career?
It’s easy to confuse our hobby interests with career interests. Sometimes, the former doesn’t always translate to the latter, despite how it may feel. Of course, if it does, that’s fantastic. But it might be that working in a professional capacity surrounding the first hobby you love could leave it feeling a little bit hollow and may remove the magic for you.
For instance, not everyone who absolutely loves food has what it takes to be a chef outside of a highly restricted corporate kitchen environment. That’s okay.
For this reason, it’s good to sit back and think about what you may think you want is what you actually want. This can be tested by trying that direction for a little while, but not feeling absolutely wedded to it. If it does turn out that this is your passion, not just your hobby, then you’ll have won twice. However, it’s clear to see how a little caution and care can help you avoid diving into anything without thinking.
What Lifestyle Do You Wish To Lead?
Sometimes, it’s not the career that counts but the lifestyle that also goes along with that. Someone teaching scuba diving on the Australian coast will be living a vastly different life than a contractor in an inner-city environment, for instance, yet both have their freedom and a sense of authorial control over how they plan their day and how they relate to their clients.
It might be that running a smallholding is for you, or house flipping after you sell your possessions for that start-up cash. What matters is considering if you can sustain a given lifestyle for long periods of time and if you can get joy out of that. If so, it might be that you’re heading in the right direction, too.
With this advice, you’re sure to figure out how to move forward with your life in a healthier possible manner.
*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.
