Disclaimer : I wrote this piece many years ago (more than 10) and a lot has changed since then. Because of that, instead of changing the text too much, I’ll be writing updates and addendums (like this!) where I deem them appropriate. I’d rather keep the tone of it as to how I wrote it then, because I feel it’s more honest that way.
I started this series to tell people something – that it’s ok to NOT know what to do with your life. But it’s probably not
ok to stay there.
I know it gets said a lot, but I think that it bears repeating. The world these days is a lot more complex than it was 50,
20, or even 5 years ago. It’s easy to get swept up in the winds of change, in the ever-increasing pace of things, the
constant flow and improvement of technology. But all that doesn’t solve the question.33
Not that we can really “solve” it in that sense. I’m not here to give you The Answer. In fact, I doubt there is The Answer
for anything really important in life, but that’s a topic for another day. I just hope that I can lead you to what might be
your own answers. Sometimes (often!) whatever we’re searching for comes to us while we’re searching for it.
Although no one said it was going to be easy. The really worthwhile things rarely are. There are probably going to be
obstacles in your way, unanswered questions, bills to pay, obligations to attend to. All of the above.
I experienced a lot of resistance writing this, actually. Because you see, I myself haven’t discovered The Answer, or
What I Want to Do With My Life, or anything similar. In some ways I’m still as confused as the rest of you are. But maybe
that’s exactly why I am writing this. Because in all my years of searching I’ve realized that it is ok to search. The
search IS the journey.
(I actually have to amend that last paragraph a bit – as of this writing, I am definitely committed to writing as a personal vocation. But when I wrote this piece, it was true, and so in the spirit of authenticity I’ve kept it as such)
I’ve also experienced resistance in the form of critical thoughts, like “who are you to give this kind of advice?” I’m not
a multi-millionaire or a bestselling author or any kind of celebrity. So who am I to tell you what to do? What makes you think I have any authority at all in saying all of this?
Thing is, I don’t. I’ll be completely honest and say that there are plenty of things I haven’t experienced, and probably
even more things that I don’t know. But that goes for anyone on the planet. What I do have is at least SOME experience in
trying to find out what my purpose is, and I hope to share that with you. If it helps, great. If it doesn’t, at the very
least I hopefully managed to point you in the right direction or give you a decent read.
We have to abandon all our notions that there’s going to be one path to take, a steady and clear-cut way to Progress and
Moving Fowards. For years I constantly lambasted and criticized myself for not finding that path, only to realize that it doesn’t exist.
Life isn’t one-size-fits-all, and whoever tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something (and not just shoes either)
We’re not born knowing our Purpose, we have to go out there and find it, and also to be open to it finding us.
(That last bit actually happened. A chance conversation with a friend and a session with my therapist told me – right from the gut – that my purpose was
to empower people. And so I’m doing my best with my writing – this piece and others, I hope)
I’ve written most of this in a generalized way, since I have no idea who is reading this and for what purpose,
other than that of finding out that Purpose. I don’t know if you’re male or female, young or old, rich or poor or whatever.
I don’t know what obstacles you may be facing, or what you’re doing or where in life you might be. But I do know that you’ve
come here for a reason and I hope to help with that.
On the right are some resources that I’ve compiled that I think will help you out in your journey. Read all of them, read
none of them, but get out there, start dreaming, start searching and start living.