{"id":29,"date":"2019-11-21T23:30:25","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T23:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/?p=29"},"modified":"2019-11-27T23:55:52","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T23:55:52","slug":"what-if-i-dont-know-what-i-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/2019\/11\/21\/what-if-i-dont-know-what-i-want\/","title":{"rendered":"What If … I Don’t Know What I Want?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, we find ourselves at a proverbial (or not so proverbial) crossroads in life, ready to create our dream life.\u00a0 \u00a0What do I want to do with my life?\u00a0 \u00a0And what if…. I don’t know what I want exactly?\u00a0 \u00a0When faced with this daunting question, it is easy to become overwhelmed.\u00a0 I\u00a0 mean, who has this life-thing figured out completely?\u00a0\u00a0Reminds me of my high school graduation, when my parents and teachers sat me down asking this very same question.\u00a0 Thirty years and several life-times later, I honestly can’t say that I have a real answer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought I had to have it all figured out, swilling in the fear that I <\/span>should <\/em>have it all figured out.\u00a0 Of course, our family wants this for us, just as we want this for our family. But the reality of the situation is that most people don’t know what they truly want.\u00a0 Because of this, crossroads can be scary and even dreadful.\u00a0 But … they can also be exciting,<\/span>\u00a0filled with opportunity,\u00a0 to learn, to grow, to become.<\/p>\n

How do I choose when the choice is not clear?<\/p>\n

Step 1:\u00a0 Choose to choose<\/strong>
\nStanding in front of multiple options, weighing the potential consequences against each other… right, wrong, up, down …. choice can be overwhelming.\u00a0 \u00a0We make a million choices every day.\u00a0 Some choices are intentional, some choices are by default.\u00a0 But when we choose not to choose, we are allowing circumstances to make the choice for us.\u00a0 No choice is still a choice, and is called “living by default”.\u00a0 \u00a0Pull yourself out of the emotional dungeon of regret, and stand in the lightness of opportunity.\u00a0 \u00a0Own your ability to choose!\u00a0 And then decide to decide!<\/p>\n

Step 2: Trust<\/strong>
\nEach choice brings a different path.\u00a0 \u00a0Each path has a different outcome and surprises that could have never been predicted.\u00a0 Are the surprises opportunity or misfortune?\u00a0 Your perspective determines the answer.\u00a0 Trust yourself.\u00a0 Trust that you will see the opportunity in every situation, regardless of the outcome.\u00a0 Trust that every event in your life, because of your choice, is fortune.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Listen<\/strong>
\nWhat makes me happy?\u00a0 What brings me joy?\u00a0 \u00a0What feels good to me?\u00a0 The answers can be simple:\u00a0 Watching children learn.\u00a0 Helping people.\u00a0 Being creative. Making people laugh.\u00a0 \u00a0S<\/span>tep into the concept that this journey offers no assurances, that\u00a0our perspective decides our outcome.\u00a0 This allows us stillness in which we can listen to our true selves<\/span>.\u00a0 \u00a0Within this stillness we create the building blocks to your journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 4: Know the “what”.\u00a0 Let go of the “how”.<\/strong>
\nWhen I decided I wanted to be an author, I didn’t exactly know what my book was going to be about.\u00a0 In fact, the book is still a work in progress.\u00a0 What I knew is that I wanted to write, to both express myself and to share my experiences in a way that may make a positive difference in someone’s life.\u00a0 So many times I set out to achieve a goal, finding the journey offered me opportunities beyond my wildest imagination.\u00a0 Each step took me toward my goal, although it wasn’t the exact path I had intended.\u00a0 \u00a0Flexibility on “how” you will there is vital.\u00a0 A vision is an image of where you want to go, who you want to be, or what you want to have.\u00a0 \u00a0Know your destination, and let go of how<\/strong> that journey will unfold.<\/p>\n

Step 5: Be OK with baby steps<\/strong>
\n“What do I want to do with my life” is such a big question.\u00a0 Take baby steps. Dip your toe into this new journey.\u00a0 Test the waters of each opportunity.\u00a0 Uncertainty can be a difficult place for people to live, yet life is ironically full of uncertainty.\u00a0The beauty about just taking a stab at it and moving forward, is that you are moving forward.\u00a0 All too often people get stuck asking themselves the same question over and over, paralyzed by the need to have an answer.\u00a0 There is no perfect answer ! Just pick something and GO.<\/p>\n

What if I still don’t know what I want?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you find yourself in a place where you cannot find a direction, a “what”,\u00a0 do a few of the below exercises.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Write down 10 things you want to change in your life<\/li>\n
  2. Grab a journal.\u00a0 \u00a0Get yourself in a meditative state, quiet place, free from distractions.\u00a0 Using a free-flow method of writing, describe your perfect day.\u00a0 \u00a0What time do you get up?\u00a0 What do you wear?\u00a0 Where are you?\u00a0 What is your work?\u00a0 How do you feel when you work?\u00a0 Who is with you?
    \nWrite down the details by describing the sights, smells, sounds, and even your thoughts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    So, we find ourselves at a proverbial (or not so proverbial) crossroads in life, ready to create our dream life.\u00a0 \u00a0What do I want to do with my life?\u00a0 \u00a0And what if…. I don’t know what I want exactly?\u00a0 \u00a0When faced with this daunting question, it is easy to become … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,3,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thinkvibrant.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}