I've been in a position recently where I've found myself saying, more often than I'd like, that I don't know what I should do with my life. Although, the reality is that I have a few different career/life options in mind and I just don't have a frickin clue which one to pick.
I'm not going to lie, sometimes I stay awake for hours at night thinking about which road is the right one to take (this suddenly seems like a Miley Cyrus circa 2009 song) which can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety, which can then lead to everything being too much to handle and completely shutting down, then back to square one.
It's so easy to get filled with doubt and think, 'what if that doesn't work out', 'what if I end up hating that,' or 'I'll be in so much debt if I do that, I don't know if it's worth it.'
We get caught up in this idea that everyone has to have life figured out by a certain age and if we're still at stage one when someone else is at stage 5, then we're failing. Truth is, that's completely false. I'm sure you've heard of the term, 'Don't compare your hustle to their highlight reel.' Even if you're still in your hustle and others around you have reached their highlight reel, don't compare it. Keep hustling.
I don't feel completely qualified to tell you exactly what to do with your life, seeing as I haven't quite figured that out myself, but what I can give you is advice on how to get there. The best way I've found is to try as many things as possible. Say you have 10 things in mind that you could possibly see yourself doing in the future, go out and try those things on a small scale first. This could be work experience, volunteering, self employment, a hobby or anything that gives you a feel for it.
Although I didn't continue on with some of those things, they built my confidence and helped me to decide what I enjoyed and what wasn't for me.
I'm flying to a new city next week to check out a course I'm interested in and get a feel for the place, I have no idea how it'll turn out or if I'll like it but the only way to know is if I try. Another thing I haven't mentioned before is that I'm writing a book! I haven't been given a book deal and I'm not being paid to write it, I'm doing it purely because I enjoy it and hey who knows, maybe I'll try and get it published one day! (Emily from the future if you're reading this, kudos if you're a published author girl!)
The point is, is that I'm trying out everything that I can that interests me, to find out where I belong in this crazy world and you should too.
A lot of people also suggest travelling is a good way to 'find yourself' or discover your purpose in life and although that's not something I've tried myself, I am thinking about travelling to discover new cultures and develop my interests. (Ok I've gone off on a, 'just be free, man', tangent)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you don't know what the heck to do with your life, don't stress about it, because neither do most people. Try something new, join a class, take up a part time job, start a blog, travel, do anything that can make you grow as a person to find your niche and discover what really makes you happy in life, and once you narrow it down to the one thing that gives you the most fulfilment, go for it!
Let me know if you've had any experience or tips on finding your purpose in life. Emily x
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