It’s Okay if You Don’t Know What to Do With Your Life
Look, I get it. You want to live a great life. You want a fulfilling job, a home, and a relationship that makes you happy.
I know. I was once there too.
As I get older I realize everything about those three desires seems to constantly evade me. Let’s break it down:
1. A job will satisfy your ego, not your soul
It wasn’t too long ago that I interviewed for a new job. My excitement and anxiety were running high. I didn’t like my current position and wanted to get back to my creative roots by doing what I love (writing).
After a round of interviews and going back and forth with salary negotiations, I decided to stay at my current job.
It didn’t seem worth it to take the job I desired given the fact that the company would most likely treat me like garbage in some sort of similar way.
The experience would be different. It would also smell the same if you catch my drift.
The only thing that would change is my ego saying “Yes, we finally made it!” only to be let down by a providential shitty boss, potential work overload/burnout, and ego stress.
Yeah. Ego stress.
The kind you feel when somebody or something lets you down.
To my dismay, I kept my current job hoping things would pan out for me. They really didn’t. They just kept compounding until I realized that it was just my ego taking a beating.
2. When I didn’t know what to do, I just went with the flow
This was pretty tricky. We often hear all these ways to “go with the flow” and “live and let die” but I believe what we resist will persist.
We are here to learn a lesson. Sometimes it may be good or bad. Whatever we perceive it to be will be that much more.
On the other hand, I didn’t want to let go of this newfound job. In a way, it kept me tangled in a situation I didn’t want to be in.
This lead me to this realization:
3. We don’t understand how to be happy
If I asked you 5 years from now whether it made a difference whether you got that job or promotion, whether you exited, or whether you stayed, it wouldn’t matter.
Your ego would find something else to latch onto and bicker about.
It’s ok. I’ve been there.
When I thought I had it all under control and arrived at some mythical destination where I felt nothing but elated bliss, this is where you know deep down inside that it’s just not possible.
There are always two sides to the coin. Good and bad. For better or worse.
You can’t have one without the other.
So next time you don’t know what to do with your life, do nothing. Let everything unfold. Let whatever naivety you hold within yourself, unravel.
Then you’ll experience both sides of the coin. You’ll come to appreciate life more.
