What to Do if You Dont Know What You Wanna Do With Your Life

Michelle is an explorer, editor, author of 15 books, and mom of eight. Read full contour

Sometimes in life, we detect ourselves at a expressionless stop, or a crossroads, or on a path that seems to become nowhere and say "I don't know what to do with my life…"

No affair what stage you are at in life, if y'all are unhappy with it, or unsure equally to how to proceed, and so you demand to reevaluate.

When I was in high school, I remember thinking that I had to pick a career at which I would exist happy for the side by side 50 or so years of my life. What a daunting task. How practice you know what's going to make y'all happy for the rest of your life, especially if you're only 16 and you're withal getting a thrill out of watching "The Breakfast Society?"

You can't know. You tin't know what'south going to make y'all happy even five years from at present. Only yous can know what makes you happy now and if you're current position — or school track — isn't it, then you lot need to move on.

When my oldest children were contemplating their college careers and chore prospects, I oftentimes told them to just go and take classes or try things they thought might be interesting and if they didn't like the class or workshop or any, then cross that off your listing. Life is often about trying things and realizing what you don't desire to exist when yous "grow upward."

I spent a year substitute teaching in an effort to see if I wanted to become a public school teacher. I enjoyed that year immensely, but after talking with teachers and doing some of their job for a year, I realized that was a career that was not for me.

one. It'southward Okay You lot Tin can't Figure out the Whole Time to come

Recall, you don't know what's coming next. Life is total of interesting twists and turns, but if we continually pursue things that we savour doing whether for a task or hobby, it will make the journey interesting and more fun.

Possibly you savor making jewelry right now. Maybe you can sell it. In five years, yous might be a successful jewelry designer or you might accept moved on to some other craft. Information technology doesn't thing. You have the experience of your jewelry design to fall back on and assistance you with other projects in the future.

two. Effort to Be Comfortable with Discomfort

Sometimes, life is uncomfortable. Sometimes, we don't take enough money to practise all of the things we desire to practice. If yous accept something you really desire to pursue, then you must exist able to alive with some amount of discomfort in social club to do that.

For example, I want to mush sled dogs and run the Iditarod. In gild to practise that, I had to surrender my neat, tidy suburban home and move my family to a motel in Alaska.

We don't take running water or regular electricity and our cabin is much smaller than our quondam house, but we don't mind the discomfort of those things because we live in a beautiful identify and I get to pursue my dream.

iii. Life Is Uncertain, Become with It

Stuff happens. I idea I had it all. I had a great chore and a bang-up firm in the woods. Then I got fired, lost my house and turned 40 all in the same week. Then I found out I was pregnant. Quite the week.

I laid on the burrow for a couple of days, depressed, only then we got it together, fabricated a plan and moved to Alaska.

Take uncertainty and turn information technology on its caput. Every bad matter is an opportunity to make something good happen.

As well, information technology's really never likewise late to change your life course when something goes wrong!

Don't believe me? Here's the proof: How to Start Over and Reboot Your Life When It Seems Likewise Tardily

four. Overcome Distractions and Stop Procrastinating

You're not getting younger. Sorry, just it'south true. If you don't start taking the time to pursue your dreams, yous might find yourself at the finish of your life with zilch to show for it but a lot of Facebook posts and a agglomeration of TV shows y'all just had to lookout man.

If you are serious about pursuing a dream — whether it'south designing jewelry, professional person skateboarding or being a rich and famous figurer guru, you lot better get on information technology.

Accept those offset steps. Turn off your Facebook notifications and get working. You won't go anywhere only thinking nearly how swell you could be.

Ameliorate still, learn these steps to end procrastinating and start to focus on what truly matters: What Is Procrastination (And the Complete Guide to Stop Procrastinating)

5. Ask Yourself Questions

Accept some fourth dimension for yourself. Ask yourself big questions. And minor ones.

Learn about yourself. Meditate. Write down the things that interest yous and things you could meet yourself doing if time and money were no object. Dream big. Placidity your listen and really imagine yourself doing those things.

Past request yourself meaningful questions, you're building yourself an invincible Motivation Engine like this and whenever challenges arise, you lot know how to bargain with them.

6. Volunteer or Shadow Someone

If in that location is a job or hobby you are interested in — from grooming dogs to being a zookeeper — volunteer or job shadow and run into if information technology's an occupation you really desire to exercise.

All the dreaming in the world isn't going to help y'all if you don't go and get your easily muddy. Sometimes, we think we want to exercise something and then once we try it, nosotros realize it might non be the kind of work we like after all.

Or it might exist more involved than nosotros realized. It'southward important to get hands-on experience and practise a lot of reading by those with first-hand experience earlier we give up our current life to pursue a dream.

7. Save Upwardly

If you need to motility or go back to school to pursue your new dream, it might be pertinent to go a task doing something — anything — and relieve upwards the money to allow y'all to practice it.

I worked for many years to build my writing and editing portfolio and now, I can write and edit articles from my wee little cabin, get paid, and apply the money to pay for the equipment and food I need to run my dogsled team.

Would I love to be able to make money only from running dogs? Sure. Merely information technology's not possible right at present while I'chiliad building and grooming my team.

I don't have a reputation in dog mushing nevertheless, simply I do accept a reputation in writing. And then I do one job I love to pay for the other.

8. Respond the Door

Opportunity may be knocking simply, if you don't answer the door, how can you take reward of it? You lot must take opportunities when they are presented to you.

Sometimes it's not the correct time, simply it doesn't matter. Opportunities happen when they happen. Respond the door or that opportunity might walk on by and knock on someone else's door.

Concluding Thoughts

The most of import thing to think when trying to figure out what exercise with your life is that no activity is an action in and of itself. You must brand decisions and try things — even if you terminate up hating them or wanting to practice something else.

Think, information technology's never as well late to start once more. (Jack'due south story is an inspiring ane nigh rebooting life at a later on stage of life!)

At the finish of your life, y'all won't regret trying things and failing, merely you will regret non always trying at all.

Close that laptop and go get your life.

Featured photo credit: Unsplash via unsplash.com

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Source: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/you-dont-know-what-with-your-life-read-this.html

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