How to know what you want to do in life

Around 3 years ago, I was back from another big trip around Asia. I was leaving with my mom. And again I was asking the same question to myself continually year after year when my mind was ok, month after month in a turbulent period. What do I want to do with my life?

It seems like many people ask themselves the same questions over and over and they are never sure about the answer. By being confused, they ask around friends and family and in the end, they enter in the path others want for them. Unfortunately, it’s not truly the life they want for themselves.

Today, I’d like to share with you what I’ve done to answer maybe the most important question of all and what you could do to answer it for you too. How to know what you want to do in life.

No pressure

The most important thing to do, it’s to not putting pressure on yourself. It won’t help to be not your friend in this case. Life is all about being against yourself or being with yourself. It’s healthier to choose the second option.

So please, don’t put pressure on your shoulders with this question. The first thing to do is not to worry too much. You might ask yourself daily or weekly this same question over and over. You might be fed up with what you do and what you will become. However, being stress won’t help you. So think about relaxing yourself and being patient.

To watch: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Write

Having a journal can be good to see what we like, how we were at some time, and how we react to some stuff that is happening to us. Writing continuously through days or weeks can make you discover things about yourself. It can launch your artist and child way – best to see the better and the opportunities out of it.

By writing anytime, when you are stress or relax, happy or sad, you can realize things you might don’t know or forget about your own self. That can be a great help to ask you the big question and find out what you want to do in life or what you don’t want to do anymore. This last point is also very important. So write things done.

Be selfish

I know you are a good person. You might want to help others and make the world a better place. Maybe you love to speak to your friends when they are feeling bad and that’s really nice of you. You might be doing the job that your parents want you to do. However, the first thing to do to help your friends or the world, it’s to help yourself first.

By being happy and fulfilled about what you do, I believe that you’ll be a greater help to people around you. So the first step is thinking about yourself before others.

Being a bit selfish will help you to know to want you to do in life, then you’ll be more able to respond to the community.

Read books or/and blogs

You can be stuck and don’t know what you want to do. You can talk to your friends and family but no one seems to understand. Reading can be a great help to discover things. It can grow your mind and it can help to answer some questions you ask yourself. You might find an author who can be a mentor for you and follow his ideas about how he creates a good life for himself. As same as writing, reading can be a great help for you to know what you want to do in life.

I believe that any help can be good, especially if you ask the right question to the right person. So, read about people which inspire you and maybe you want to become kind of the same even if you are unique and after time you’ll put your unique style.

Related –> Why I Do Love Reading. Bio part.

Books I love and why

Ask yourself the question

This is what I did in my mom’s flat. I sat and I asked again this question: What do I truly want to do in life?

You have to confront (gently) yourself.

Of course, through life, we are consistently changing what we like or don’t like. But I felt like after another long trip and at 28 years old that was the moment for me to sit down and ask myself what do I really want to do in life. So I took a journal and a pen and write what I like.

I wrote that I like sharing, doing sport, being healthy, and meet people. That’s what I remember. Then I asked what I can do which can allow me to do that. I found out that being a Personal trainer aligns perfectly with what I wrote. So I took the first step by googling how to become one and I ended up sign up for a course in London to become a Personal trainer.

Then I became a Personal trainer and I couldn’t imagine actually set up a company of personal training following that. Furthermore, then build Newairz which is a health media.

But by answering what I want to do in my life, leads me to the path I wanted deeply for myself and makes me encounter all the persons who join my adventure.

If fear was not there

You might want to do something and it might be something that you are scared of. But imagine if fear doesn’t exist and you can do everything you want.

Just don’t look at the big picture if it’s too much scary and you are not ready for it yet, however, build the confidence and take the first step to do that.

Related –> Brief Talk About Stress and Confidence

Let’s imagine that you want to be an actor. So that’s the big picture.
The first step will be to take some classes or go to the theatre to act and maybe meet some people doing already what you want to do.

Sometimes getting started is more important than anything else. So launch yourself and just do it.

You have to play the role first and if you truly desire you will become the person you want to become.

Be patient, keep looking

Again there is no stress to have as it’s not healthy anyway. In life, we need to be patient for great things to come.

I like this sentence from Steve Jobs in his speech given at Stanford saying: « Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

Life, nature, ourselves, and everything is constantly changing, evolving. This is life. We might like to do something for a moment, then we decide we want to do something else. It can happen and that’s kind of normal. So we have to begin the whole process again.

And sometimes it’s by forgetting this concept of knowing what you want to do in life that this will strike you naturally.

Related –> Accept things as there are

Final thought

Be your friend, not your enemy. Be cool with yourself and I hope this process can help to find out what you want to do in your life. As you’ve seen I emphasize the fact to do not put pressure on yourself. In life, we have to be patient and enjoy the process.

If you haven’t found what you want to do yet, keep experiencing, keep taking notes, keep reading, and keep living the life. That might be the most important of all.