If you have thought to yourself, “I don’t know what I want to do with my life.” Don’t worry, you aren’t alone and questioning this is completely normal.
In this article we will discuss strategies for finding your passion, discovering your purpose in life, and much more.
If you’re reading this post then it means you are looking for guidance on how to find the right path in life. This is a difficult process but one that is well worth the effort when you finally find yourself living out your destiny.
Is It Normal To Not Know What To Do With Your Life?
Not knowing what to do with life is completely normal and not something you should ever be ashamed or worried about.
We all go through these moments in life, whether it is graduating from high school, deciding on a career to pursue, getting over a breakup or looking to retire.
Many of us will go through variety of phases where we are unsure what our life purpose is and what we really want to do in that new stage of life.
However, when you are contemplating life, it is the perfect time to consider what some of your passions and dreams are.
It may be to start a business, get a job in a different industry, pursue a specific career, become a parent, begin writing or even go back to school. The opportunities really are endless.
Sometimes we believe that all of life’s decisions are made for us, but this is not the case. It can be hard when you don’t know where to start with finding a career or how you can fulfill your purpose in this world but it is important to dive deep and face the problem head on.
Find Your Life Purpose And Change Your Life
The first question you need to ask is how fulfilled do you feel?
For some people, just getting through the day and checking off their to-do list is enough to feel satisfied with life. However, for others who want more out of life, they need a higher purpose in order to feel fulfilled.
Often when people are looking for their purpose in life, they are looking for what they can do to make a difference or want to know what they can do with their life that is important.
Something that will make a difference not only in their life but also in the lives of others.
Finding your purpose involves asking yourself a lot of questions. Some of which include:
- What do you want to do with your life? It might not be what you are doing within your job right now or what your parents have told you for years that you should do, but take some time and really think about it.
- What has made me feel like I am contributing or living out my purpose in this world? Find out more about those things if they make sense as possible careers paths for you.
- Are there people I admire who live their lives fully, knowing where their passions lie? How can I start following in their footsteps today by taking steps towards achieving goals related to these passions?
Below we will go through some detailed strategies that will help you find your purpose and what you would like to do with your life.
How Do I Figure Out What I Want To Do With My Life?
1. Clear Your Mind And Exercise Regularly
When it comes to finding what you want to do in life, there can often be moments where you are feeling low or down about your situation.
Instead of allowing yourself to stay this way, take the opportunity to clear your mind and work to find clarity around what you would want to do.
It is important to take time away from the daily grind and find some balance for yourself. This may include exercising or simply getting fresh air while going for a walk. When we exercise regularly, we release endorphins that can be helpful to boost our mood or feelings.
Take the time to work on your physical and mental health. This will allow you to have a clarity of mind when considering what you want to do with your life. It also ensures that our time and energy is focused on finding answers.
2. Take Time To Reflect On Your Life
When we are looking back on everything that has happened over our life so far, there becomes an “aha” moment where we find out what really matters most to us. Reflecting on our life bring perspective and reference to our current situation.
We then know exactly how to live our lives moving forward with purposeful action. If you have had moments of reflection then you have probably found that your values focus on things like family, finding peace or pursuing education.
When we really take time to reflect on the past and present we are properly equipped to plan for a better future.
You can also ask yourself questions such as:
- What am I good at?
- How do I spend my free time?
- When does my heart feel full of joy?
These answers will reveal clues about our passions and purpose. The more clarity we have now, the less stress there will be later on when trying to figure it all out.
3. Write Out Goals And Take Strategic Steps That Will Set You Up For Success
Once you have received some clarity about what you want to do and reflected on your life. It is important to sit down and write out your goals. When we write out goals, we are setting ourselves up for success.
We can then strategically plan out the steps to take each day that will lead us to where we want to go in life.
Write down smaller steps that will help you accomplish your goals. This will remind you of what it is that you are trying to accomplish and provide practical steps to achieve them.
These steps are little things that we can do every single day. However, they make more of an impact when completed with intention and awareness of our purposeful actions, rather than just mindlessly following through on routine tasks without much thought at all.
You should also allocate time and energy towards what you are passionate about, so that the process feels sustainable over the long term.
If you find a job that doesn’t align with your interests, this can make the search feel even more challenging because you’re not able to enjoy doing the work itself.
If in doubt about which direction to take, take some classes or volunteer at different places where people do things they love.
This way, if something sparks an interest for now or later on down the line, then it’s possible to explore further without adding any extra stress to your life. You can then create goals around this new interest.
4. Seek Wisdom From Those Who Have Already Been There
Finding your purpose in life is something that we have all struggled with at some stage. So, it is important to find other people who have been able to figure out what they wanted to do with their life.
There are a few ways that you can find people who have previously been there:
- Ask your friends and family for advice on what they think would be good for you
- Find someone in the media or a public figure who has found purposeful work, that you could get ideas from
- Reach out to professionals within various industries and ask them about how they found meaning in their job choice
The process is simple but takes time. It’s important not to set any expectations, so it doesn’t become too discouraging if things don’t go according to plan.
Seeking wisdom and advice from other people is also a great way to avoid mistakes that other people have previously made.
For example, if you are looking to get into a specific industry, someone already within that industry will be able to tell you what course or degree you will need to get to succeed and be hired within the industry. This saves you time and money when it comes to potentially taking the wrong course.
5. Get Outside Of Your Comfort Zone
Getting outside of your comfort zone is a great way to change your life and discover what you want to do. This is because you are trying new things and you can’t necessarily predict what will happen.
Experimenting with different activities gives you an opportunity to find something that you really enjoy doing.
The following is a list of some ideas for getting outside your comfort zone:
- Try out a new hobby
- Take up art classes
- Learn how to cook or bake
- Meet new people
- Go outdoors more often – get into hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, geocaching etc
You will be amazed at how simply getting out of your comfort zone can help provide you with clarity about life and possibly even help you realize what you would like to do moving forward.
6. Learn More About Yourself And Your Interests
When it comes to discovering what you want to do with your life, it is important to take the time to learn more about yourself.
This is because it will help you to determine what your interests are, discover the skills and abilities that you have and find out more about how you would like to spend your time on a day-to-day basis.
Ways that you can learn more about yourself include:
- Taking free personality assessments (For example, ENFJ or Myers Briggs Type Indicator)
- Explore careers related to particular passions such as writing
- Learn about different cultures and languages through studying abroad programs or international internships
- Establish relationships with people from various industries by asking questions
- Attend events or volunteer at organizations that interest you
When you learn more about yourself and what your interests are, you will be able to find a career that will make you happy.
7. Limit Your Options To Help You Decide
When we have too many options, we can often become overwhelmed, which can result in not making any decisions at all. Limiting your options to three can make the decision process much easier.
If you have many competing interests, create a list of pros and cons for each option in a table. Then rank them by which interest you are most passionate about followed by those that appeal to you equally then lastly those with less passion or relevance.
By ranking your choices this way, it is possible to find out what would be best for yourself in terms of personal happiness at work and in life more generally.
Limiting your options doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do something that you aren’t passionate about or interested in.
An example of this might be an open-ended list that includes “I want to teach” and “work in the theater.” In this case, it is still possible to find out what would best suit you by ranking them based on your personal interests.
If you were trying to decide between these two options for a career path, you may rank teaching first because you are more passionate about it than the theater.
This decision making process may lead you to considering a teaching job that specialized in theatre or drama. Even though it may mean not working in the theatre, you are still able to teach on a subject you are really interested in and passionate about.
Reading over all pros and cons lists can help make decisions easier. It is also important to make sure to also rank based on their feasibility given your life circumstances, such as family obligations or affordability within this stage of your life.
8. Chose To Live Without Regrets
When we are looking for what we want to do in life, it is important to not live with regrets. When we live with regrets we can end up feeling stuck. It can be easy to feel like there is no way out of a situation, but the truth is that there are many ways that we can find what makes us happy.
By looking at our values and skills, we might discover something new about ourselves; it could lead to finding your true self or discovering what you want in life.
You might not know where you will end up when following this path, but the more you explore different possibilities, the better chance you have of finding what brings you joy.
It is important to value what you already have. We can get so focused on what we don’t have that it is easy to forget about the wonderful opportunities and skills that you already do possess.
When making a list of all the things in your life, there are bound to be many positives. It’s worth taking some time out of each day to really appreciate those things that make us happy because sometimes they might not exist without our actions or choices.
When we show gratitude for what we have and where we are going, it allows us to live a life free of regrets because we know that everything will work out the way that it is meant to.
9. Embrace Failure During The Journey
If you happen to fail on the journey, it is okay. Failure has taught some of the most successful people in history what they should do differently or how they need to change.
If we look at our failures as a learning experience then we are able to grow stronger from them rather than let guilt consume us for something that did not work out in life.
Remember that failure will always be apart of the journey and that if you keep trying to achieve your goal and never give up hope and continue actively working towards accomplishing your goals, you will overcome any adversity that comes your way.
It can be a difficult time of transition for many people who have spent their whole lives feeling like they’re lost on the path ahead. However, it is important to understand that the pay off in the end is always worth it.
Failure is one of those things that either takes someone out of the game or makes them stronger. “There is nothing more satisfying in life than chasing your dream, passion or idea and actually succeeding.” – Bo Bennett
Success doesn’t come easily and that means we must be willing to work for it! If there was an easier way everyone would be successful. However, successful people are those who keep trying even when things get hard and failure happens along the way.
If you don’t find the thing you want to do straight off the bat, that is okay. Go back to the drawing board and try other options. You don’t fail until you stop trying and take yourself out of the game.
10. Receive A Greater Reward
It is important to understand that if we chase our dreams and live without regrets we will end up with the ultimate reward, which is discovering our life purpose.
When we are able to live a life where we have chased our dreams, the feeling of self fulfillment is unlike anything else you would have experienced before in life.
There is nothing more satisfying in life than chasing your dream, passion, idea or business and actually succeeding.
Every step that you will have made towards accomplishing your goal will have been worth it. Whether it was staying up late, taking on additional study or working 60 hours a week on a start up business.
Chasing your dream and passion isn’t easy but in the end, it will have all been worth it.
11. Understand That Living Small Doesn’t Help Anyone, Especially Not You
More often than not, we don’t purse our dreams or goals because we are fearful of what others may think or say about us. What would happen if we started a business that didn’t succeed the first time? Would that mean we would be perceived as a failure?
We get caught up in the opinions of others and most of the time it holds us back. It holds us back from succeeding but it also prevents us from even our dream a shot.
It is so important to understand that by choosing to live small and not pursue your dreams or goals, you are only hurting yourself.
If someone is jealous of you now, they will still be jealous of you when you have succeeded. Work on not taking it personally and allow yourself the freedom to shine.
The key here is not to take things personally when others may try and discourage you from following your dreams. Successful people have dealt with these same feelings at some point in their life so just be strong, stay focused and pay them no no attention.
12. Create Your Own Story
The exciting thing about life is that we have the opportunity to create our own story.
We have the choice to take life by its horns and make something of ourselves or we can continue living in a state of uncertainty with nothing but regret as an outcome.
What are you going to do about your career? A decision needs to be made. It is time to find your passion, discover what drives you and then pursue that goal relentlessly. The world awaits those who dare to create their own story.
The cool thing about creating your own story is that it is yours. You can share it with others or keep it to yourself, but there is no one else in the world who has lived your story.
Many successful people share their story to motivate and help many other people step out and chase their own dreams. Your success story could also be the thing that changes someone else’s life.
13. Do What You Love Everyday
When looking for your purpose, it is important to do something that you love every single day. This is because when you do something that is rewarding, it brings fulfillment and joy to your life.
It also means that we will be more productive, and we will have the motivation to keep going when obstacles come our way.
If you are an adrenaline junkie, then this could be your passion as well. If you have ever been skiing or racing on skis and it felt exhilarating, then that is what we are talking about.
You could start your own ski instructing business or work for a ski company that will provide you with flexibility and opportunity.
When you do what you love, you won’t feel like you are working a day in your life. The best way to figure out what you want to pursue as a career is by starting with something that intrigues you and go from there.
By looking at the different employment fields, figuring out which one feels right for you will help in finding your true purpose. If it’s not an option because of finances or other reasons, then try another field until you find the perfect fit.
14. Be Kind To Yourself
It is easy to apply undue pressure when trying to figure out what to do with your life. However, the truth is that it is important to be kind to yourself through this journey of discovery.
Simply get started and take one day at a time. Life is made up of a variety of different decisions. Instead of being negative about this process, try your best not to place undue pressure on yourself.
The Bottom Line
We often don’t know what we want to do with our lives because the possibilities are endless and limitless. We get stuck on what’s comfortable and easy rather than letting ourselves explore new opportunities that will ultimately lead us down a path of success.
It is important to take some time before you can figure out the steps you should take next but these introspective questions will help.
Questions such as What am I good at? or What makes me happy? The answers to these questions may help determine where your strengths lie or which career path would make you happiest.
There are other ways people discover their goals too, like taking on a new project or volunteering for an organization that they are interested in. The key is to find the right approach for yourself, so you can make your dream come true, whatever it may be.
Don’t allow yourself to get stressed or anxious when you are unsure what you want to do with your life. Take your time and be kind to yourself.
Sooner or later, you will figure it out and be happier than you have been in a long time.
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