I don’t know what to do with my life and feel lost. Do you know this feeling? Uncertainty about one’s future, not knowing which direction to take, worries… At some point we all experience this complicated reality. We seek meaning in our existence, a coherent story that often only emerges when the present becomes the past.
Then you are exactly right here. In this article I will show you how to find your personal path in life, how to get out from the feeling of i don’t know what i want to do with my life and how to bring more motivation and enthusiasm into your life.
Self-discovery – what does that actually mean?
Self-discovery simply means:
You know your inner desires and needs. You know exactly what you love, what you can do and what is good for you.
The good thing is: With this knowledge you can get the best out of yourself and shape your life in such a way that you are happy and successful (almost) everyday and answer the toughest question idk what to do with my life in your lowest.
So self-discovery helps you clear the confusion in your head and gain more clarity. Then you know where you want to go in life, you can set goals and actively go towards them .
I’ll tell you one thing from experience:
This ” Who am I? / What do I really want?” question is perhaps the most important question you can ever ask yourself.
Why?
Because the answer to this question determines your ENTIRE life! I’ll get to that in a bit more detail…
However, the road to self-discovery is sometimes a bit rocky:
Why is self-discovery so difficult?
The biggest problem is the endless possibilities you have these days.
Hardly anyone used to think about “finding yourself” – you were simply born into your role in life.
Today, however, you no longer have to do the same job as your parents or take over the family business.
You have many more options: you can live in the country, in the city, or backpack around the world… you can become a top manager, or a social worker… an employee or an entrepreneur…
On the one hand, that’s great – on the other hand, it’s also a huge problem!
Because:
These many possibilities mean that you try a thousand ways and never find the right path to happiness and success .
However, seeking and finding this path is super important.
Self-discovery: The most important basis for a happy life
Once you have emerged from the phase of “I don’t know what to do with my life” you know who you are and what you want to do with your life, a whole new world suddenly opens up to you:
- You will love yourself more
- You will be in tune with yourself
- You will go through life with a whole new serenity
- You will develop a unique personality and radiate it
- You get a super strong self-confidence
- You will just be super HAPPY
The fastest way to find out what you really want
Finding out what you really want is rarely a straight path. Rather, it is – as in the picture on the right – a path with many junctions and wrong turns.
So that you don’t waste your life forever, there are two methods to quickly find the right path:
- The Thinker Methods: These methods are suitable for anyone who likes to think. You ask yourself a few specific self-discovery questions and find out what your true needs are.
- The Action Methods: These methods are important for EVERYONE (more on that below). You simply try out everything possible and thus gain practical experience. This way, you’ll quickly realize what you really enjoy and what you don’t.
8 tips to help you find your way in life
Over the years, I’ve struggled with whether I want to change something in my life, or whether I want to stay the same course.
I’ve been wondering what the meaning and purpose of my life is.
A few tips and questions have always been particularly helpful to me and I now want to pass them on to you.
1. Enjoy the ignorance
Do you remember math homework from school? As long as you didn’t know the result, they seemed incredibly complex and complicated. But once the result and the solution was explained, suddenly everything made sense.
It’s similar when you’re trying to figure out what you want to do in life. When you start it all seems so inscrutable and entangled, but looking back a few years later, the bigger picture is suddenly clear and concise.
So don’t worry if you can’t see the way yet. Instead, enjoy the uncertainty and excitement. The overall picture will become clear over time.
2. What does your dream life look like?
This question is damn important to find an answer about what you want to do with your life.
- Is it important to you to have a big house and drive an expensive car?
- Is free time important to you or would you also work on weekends?
- What kind of family life and what kind of friendships do you wish for?
- And so forth…
There is no set answer to these questions. They can evolve or change completely. But for current decisions it helps you to consciously know your dream life.
A few years ago, my biggest wish was to become more open and communicative . I subordinated all my decisions to this goal for a while and thereby changed my life by 180 degrees.
The more consciously you know your goals, the easier it will be for you to make the right decisions.
If you want even more clarity and a compass for your decisions, a vision board can also help you. In this way you bring your dreams even more real and present in your life.
3. Just start
Are you unsure what to do and what not to do? Then just do something. The most important thing is that you start.
Get active, even if you’re not yet sure if something is the right thing to do. Doing anything is always better than nothing.
You’ll learn a lot by trying lots of different things, and last but not least, you’ll get closer to the answer of what you really want.
It’s not uncommon for one thing to lead to the next and then to the next… And you end up doing something completely different than you did at the beginning, but the first step was still important.
If you are looking for more impulses, take a look at Anchu Kögl’s article Changing lives .
4. What price are you willing to pay?
I’ve never seen a job or life that’s always rosy. Everything also has its disadvantages.
But I think this thought is not only stressful, but also liberating. There is no path that is only easy and beautiful. There isn’t one perfect decision you have to make.
Everything has it’s price.
If you want to be an eccentric artist, then you have to accept that your work will not only be admired, but also rejected hundreds of times.
If you want to climb the corporate ladder in a successful law firm, then you have to be prepared for 80-hour weeks.
Or if you want to devote yourself to a social profession, then you should assume that you will probably not be able to afford a luxury villa with this salary.
Also, consider the difficult aspects of the different paths in life and consider the price you would willingly pay.
If your desires for two different areas of life are not compatible, then you have to make a decision. But don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’ll probably change your mind again anyway, or take a completely different path as you try things out and have new experiences.
Asking what price I’m willing to pay is one of THE best tools I know.
This question quickly separates the wheat from the chaff!
If you want to learn more about what you really want, skip over to the What Do I Really Want article. “
If you don’t have a plan of what you really want, the article will knock your socks off and bring clarity very quickly.
5. Get out of your comfort zone
Maybe you have no idea what you want to do with your life because you’ve never tried it.
And you won’t find out until you get outside and try new things, either.
Go to places you’ve never been before. Don’t be afraid to talk to people you don’t normally talk to. And try things that might even scare you a little.
You will have completely new experiences and get to know yourself better.
Some of the things you do you may never want to do again. But there will also be things that excite you that you never expected.
6. Discover your strengths
Are there things that come easily to you or that you are gifted at? Of course! Everyone has weaknesses, but also strengths.
Your strengths are the things you are naturally good at. Maybe you don’t even know them because they always came naturally to you. That’s why you think the others probably feel the same way.
However, you should know your strengths. We often enjoy things we are good at. When we can use our strengths, we feel competent and motivated. For this reason, a job in which one’s own strengths come into their own is often a good choice.
By the way: Dealing with yourself always makes sense if you are unsure or don’t know in which direction you want to go.
If this is your topic, the article on the topic: Who am I really? will help you.
7. Venture out of your shell
Nothing holds you back like the fear of failure or being rejected.
For a long time I didn’t dare to show myself because I was afraid of being smiled at or rejected. Many people therefore suppress their desires and goals . They just don’t want to be seen as a failure.
I first had to work for a few years to overcome my shyness a few years before I dared to step out of the shadows into the sun and pursue my dreams.
As long as you are afraid of being rejected by other people, you will hide in your shell. You’ll make yourself comfortable there instead of getting what you want. And as time goes on it will get harder and harder.
To find out what you really want, you have to venture out into the world.You have to be willing to accept mistakes and rejections. Because then sooner or later you will find the answer to the question: “What should I do with my life?”
8. Prepare for a marathon
Are you waiting for the magical moment when everything suddenly becomes clear to you and you realize your entire life plan?
Then you will wait a long time.
It will take you a while to figure out where to go. And even at 60 you won’t know where everything is going.
Life changes every moment . You will always have to adjust your path and revise your plan. There is no path in life that goes straight.
Prepare yourself for a long, eventful journey. With many hills and valleys.
And try to enjoy it, because this path will also come to an end at some point.
Where should I go with my life? – Conclusion
For a long time I had absolutely no idea what I wanted out of life.
And even today I can’t say where I’ll be in 10 years.
But over time I have acquired an inner compass that makes it easy for me to make decisions.
I got to this point because I tried an incredible number of things. Today I know much better what is important to me and what is not. And I’m not so afraid of making mistakes anymore.
Even today I have no idea whether my decisions are correct. But I feel good about it. And I stand by the decisions with full confidence.
I won’t see what comes of it for a few years.
My final tip for you is to take it easy. The search for
the meaning of life should be something interesting, inspiring and not torture.
Ultimately, it’s all about figuring out how best to spend the rest of your life.
I wish you lots of fun and success in this search.
I hope you enjoyed the article and found something helpful to
take away from it.
