When we leave school, we're expected to know what we want to do with our lives. Considering eighteen and twenty-two (depending on which year you decide to leave school.) When you think about how early it is in a person's life to make significant career decisions. It's understandable to see why people struggle with knowing what they want to do with their careers and their life.
To ease the stress of figuring out what you want, I will give you some tips to help you figure out what you want from life!
Work out what you like
When working out what career you'd like, I always suggest looking at what you enjoy learning and doing. Many people will say it won't matter whether you like it as long as you get paid. I disagree as yes, you can get paid, but you'll be in this career for forty plus years, and why be miserable for forty years when you can be happy.
Write down the hobbies you enjoy and things that you feel could be a possibly viable career. Work out the opportunities that those hobbies you want to make monetisable are available to you. If you can go to workshops and try these things out, it'll help you narrow down what you enjoy; what you hate, want you want to take further, and what you need to research more.
Start saying no
Throughout life, you'll have people guiding you and giving you advice. Parents will take you to clubs you want to go and visit. However, sometimes people will say or make you do things you don't want to do. Or won't let you do something. For example, you want to start dying your hair blue at college, but someone won't let you. Sometimes it is okay to say no it is okay to assert your bodily autonomy. As it will give you more agency and you'll learn more about yourself. Plus, when you are older and finally given freedom, you've been allowed to explore. And so you won't need that time to go wild, and you'll know about yourself much more quickly because you've been able to.
However, if you are reading this and are now an adult, this is the time to intrinsically look at what makes you happy and start doing things you want! And not out of the fear of disappointing your mum aged thirty. Brainstorm what you could turn into a fun side hustle. Or figure out the one thing you've always wanted to do and plan for it!
Many people say they want to travel the world. If that's you, take some time off work, book cheap flights, travel, find places to stay and plan your route. For others, it's something like starting a business, in which case you speak to financial advisors and make a plan.
Start research
In paragraph one, I mentioned research, and now I'm going to expand on that point. When you begin looking at careers and consider things you like or potential areas of interest. Double-check the degrees you could need or other routes to get into a career path you could be interested in learning. The more research you do, the more prepared you are and the more options you know are available to you. You can use the research to pick your next steps or completely disregard ideas as you begin to realise what is and isn't for you.
If researching by yourself gets overwhelming, you can always get advice from other people. For example, a careers advisor. Even as an adult, you can contact one if you find yourself wanting to change your plans. You could ask other people in your office or friends about their jobs.
Voluntary work
Another way to figure out what you want in your career is to do voluntary work. The first thing it does is it enables you to have different experiences which employers from any field will love. The next thing is you can get some voluntary work in an area you love in which you end up doing something you love anyway and feeling more fulfilled.
Something else that could happen is that you do some voluntary work outside of your careers and hobbies. And find something else that you're passionate about and care for more, and the voluntary work helped you figure that out.
It also enables you to make more connections. It allows you to have more friends! And gives you a contact that could provide you with more opportunities, and another door opens to you.
Be honest
No matter how you figure out what you want from life, whether a job or a friend. You have to be honest with yourself. Otherwise, you won't get the answers that will truly make you happy. Nor will you solve anything, and you'll be stuck on square one again.
I hope those tips have helped you figure out what you want from life or if you need a brand new horizon.
Want another post that makes the future less terrifying! Read it here:
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