Are you between the ages of 18 and 22 and have no idea what you’re doing with your life? IT’S OKAY. Say that to yourself. Take it in. Accept it. Breathe. That was advice I had to take myself, and you’ll find it’s easier said than done. But it can be done, and it needs to be.
You may feel like you’re drowning in decisions, decisions that need to be made like yesterday, and you may feel like you’ll never figure it out. But you will, and here’s how.
Think of the things you like to do that make you the happiest. What makes your heart explode with joy? What is the one thing, that when you’re doing it, you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing? Got it? If not, stay on this for a while. It’ll come to you, trust me. If you have it, read on.
If you have a clear interest that translates to academics smoothly, you’re good to go. But if you have a different type of interest, you may be thinking, there’s no way I could make a career out of that. Common interests such as writing, music, sports—they seem out of reach. But the only reason they seem this way is because of the way your mind chooses to think about them.
That book series you spent a whole summer reading and soaking in every word from? Someone wrote it. That song you downloaded that’s been on repeat for days? Someone sings it. That football game that drove you crazy last Sunday? Someone played in it. Why can’t that someone be you?
There are thousands of human beings, no different from you, doing the things you would love to do—the same things you think are so unattainable. I bet the successful people in those fields didn’t have that mindset. And look where they are. It’s only human nature to feel like we can never accomplish our greatest dreams and that we must stick to something practical, but that’s just not the way to achieve happiness.
I really believe that you can do anything you want to do in this life and you can singlehandedly create the life you want to live. You’ll have to work hard and it won’t come easy. You’ll face rejection after rejection and you’ll feel like giving up. But don’t. That won’t get you anywhere.
I think it’s such a shame the amount of people that go on to lead lives they don’t really want. It’s easy to be taken over by the idea that you need to make lots of money to make a good living. It’s not necessarily untrue; you do need to have some sort of a decent income to support yourself and a family is you so choose to have one. But money isn’t everything. And if you’re one of those people who thinks money is more important than happiness, well you probably should’ve stopped reading this already.
I think the biggest mistake people make when deciding what to do with their lives is thinking they have to settle for something in order to be successful. I don’t know, some people might disagree, but wouldn’t you rather not be a millionaire and be happy than be super rich and unsatisfied with your life?
I can’t stress enough how important it is to realize that you can pursue your wildest dreams and be successful. You can make a nice living doing what you’ve always wanted; you just have to work hard and be dedicated. You have to have a positive outlook and you have to believe you can do it. You have to stop at nothing to get what you want in life.
If you do these things, you will accomplish your goals. You’ll not only be successful financially, but you'll be successful in every single other aspect of life. And most importantly, you'll be happy. Life’s too short to settle.
