What to Do When You Dont Know What to Do Series

Michelle is an explorer, editor, author of fifteen books, and mom of eight. Read full profile

Sometimes in life, nosotros notice ourselves at a dead stop, or a crossroads, or on a path that seems to go nowhere and say "I don't know what to practice with my life…"

No matter what stage you are at in life, if yous are unhappy with it, or unsure as to how to continue, then you need to reevaluate.

When I was in high school, I remember thinking that I had to pick a career at which I would be happy for the next 50 or and so years of my life. What a daunting chore. How practice yous know what's going to make you lot happy for the residuum of your life, especially if you're only 16 and you lot're still getting a thrill out of watching "The Breakfast Club?"

Yous can't know. You can't know what's going to brand you lot happy fifty-fifty five years from at present. Only you lot tin know what makes you happy at present and if you're current position — or school rails — isn't it, then you demand to movement on.

When my oldest children were contemplating their higher careers and chore prospects, I oftentimes told them to but get and take classes or try things they thought might be interesting and if they didn't like the class or workshop or whatever, then cross that off your list. Life is often nigh trying things and realizing what you lot don't want to be when you "abound upwards."

I spent a twelvemonth substitute educational activity in an attempt to see if I wanted to become a public school instructor. I enjoyed that year immensely, only after talking with teachers and doing some of their job for a twelvemonth, I realized that was a career that was not for me.

one. It's Okay You Can't Figure out the Whole Futurity

Remember, you don't know what'south coming adjacent. Life is full of interesting twists and turns, but if we continually pursue things that we relish doing whether for a job or hobby, it will make the journeying interesting and more than fun.

Maybe you bask making jewelry correct now. Maybe you tin can sell it. In five years, you might exist a successful jewelry designer or you might take moved on to another craft. It doesn't matter. Y'all have the experience of your jewelry design to fall back on and aid you with other projects in the future.

two. Endeavor to Be Comfy with Discomfort

Sometimes, life is uncomfortable. Sometimes, we don't take enough money to practice all of the things we desire to do. If you accept something you really desire to pursue, and so you must be able to live with some amount of discomfort in order to practice that.

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

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

3. Life Is Uncertain, Get with It

Stuff happens. I idea I had it all. I had a swell task and a cracking house in the forest. And then I got fired, lost my business firm and turned 40 all in the same calendar week. And then I found out I was pregnant. Quite the week.

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

Have incertitude and turn it on its head. Every bad affair is an opportunity to make something good happen.

Besides, it'south actually never too belatedly to change your life course when something goes incorrect!

Don't believe me? Hither'southward the proof: How to Start Over and Reboot Your Life When Information technology Seems Too Late

4. Overcome Distractions and End Procrastinating

Yous're not getting younger. Pitiful, but information technology's truthful. If you don't start taking the fourth dimension to pursue your dreams, you might find yourself at the end of your life with nil to show for it simply a lot of Facebook posts and a agglomeration of Television shows you but had to watch.

If you are serious about pursuing a dream — whether it's designing jewelry, professional person skateboarding or being a rich and famous computer guru, y'all improve get on it.

Take those first steps. Plow off your Facebook notifications and get working. Y'all won't become anywhere merely thinking about how smashing you lot could be.

Better yet, learn these steps to cease procrastinating and offset to focus on what truly matters: What Is Procrastination (And the Complete Guide to Stop Procrastinating)

five. Inquire Yourself Questions

Take some time for yourself. Inquire yourself big questions. And pocket-sized ones.

Learn almost yourself. Meditate. Write down the things that interest you and things you could see yourself doing if fourth dimension and coin were no object. Dream big. Tranquillity your heed and actually imagine yourself doing those things.

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

6. Volunteer or Shadow Someone

If there is a task or hobby y'all are interested in — from grooming dogs to being a zookeeper — volunteer or job shadow and meet if it's an occupation you really want to do.

All the dreaming in the earth isn't going to assistance y'all if you don't go and get your hands dirty. Sometimes, we think we want to do something and and so once we effort it, we realize it might non exist the kind of work we similar after all.

Or it might be more involved than we realized. It'southward important to get hands-on experience and do a lot of reading by those with outset-hand experience before we give up our current life to pursue a dream.

7. Salve Up

If you need to move or go dorsum to school to pursue your new dream, it might be pertinent to get a job doing something — annihilation — and salve upward the coin to permit yous to practise it.

I worked for many years to build my writing and editing portfolio and now, I tin write and edit articles from my wee little cabin, go paid, and use the coin to pay for the equipment and food I need to run my dogsled squad.

Would I love to exist able to make coin just from running dogs? Sure. But it's not possible right now while I'chiliad edifice and training my team.

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

eight. Respond the Door

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

Sometimes it's not the right fourth dimension, only it doesn't thing. Opportunities happen when they happen. Answer the door or that opportunity might walk on by and knock on someone else's door.

Final Thoughts

The most important matter to remember when trying to figure out what do with your life is that no action is an activity in and of itself. You must make decisions and endeavor things — even if you end up hating them or wanting to do something else.

Remember, information technology'due south never too late to start again. (Jack's story is an inspiring one about rebooting life at a later stage of life!)

At the finish of your life, y'all won't regret trying things and failing, but you will regret not e'er 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