Gabby was not looking forward to dinner. She was not excited about meeting new people and being asked what she was studying.
Lately, she noticed that when she was asked the question, she would say a different answer, looking for something that would sound right and resonate with her.
However, the truth was that Gabby did not like her course. She did not like the subjects that she was studying, and she did not know what she wanted to do for a career path.
So Gabby stayed in her present course, pretending to herself and others that she had found her purpose and career choice.
So started the story of “I don’t know what I want” together with the pressure, anxiety, and feelings of being overwhelmed about the future.
It is not uncommon for individuals to get to a point where they feel stuck or directionless, whether they are graduating from high school, choosing a career path, starting a new job, or even recovering from a break up. We all have a point in our lives that we don’t know what to do next.
However, sometimes the problem of not knowing what to do next is thinking that we should know what we want.
This can put a lot of pressure on us and make us feel inadequate and overwhelmed for not having it all figured out.
This is misguided. Life is meant to be an experience, not something we need to have figured out for the next ten years of our life or more.
For, life is figured out by trying new things, making mistakes, making decisions, and finding out what makes us feel joyful, fulfilled, and inspired. It is a journey of self-discovery and of not being afraid to try new things.
So this week’s challenge is to discover more about yourself. To seek the quiet and to turn inward and reflect on the following questions: What am I passionate about? What does my ideal life look like? What inspires me? Who are the people I admire? What scares me? And what do I want to do every day?
When you know more about yourself, you will start to make decisions from a point of insight, of trusting yourself.
This trust will make you feel more self-assured and give you the confidence to know what to do next.
However, understand that the journey of knowing what you want in life also starts with knowing what you don’t want. So give yourself time, experiment, be curious, try new things, and listen to your feelings, and trust yourself.
Know if you invest the time in yourself, the answers will come.
Forever creating,
Deborah Ruth
