“What do you want to do with your life?”
“What do I want to do with my life?” It is the most important question to answer in any person’s life. It is “The Question.” Yet the way it is commonly asked today—“What should I do with my life?” — is disempowering, it is the wrong way to ask it. The right way is to place responsibility for the answer with yourself: “What do I want to do with my life?” with emphasis on the “I want.” The word “should” smuggles in guilt; it implies there is some higher order that we must live up to other than our own happiness. It suggests that we have an obligation to something or someone other than ourselves. Don’t we all have
something we “should” do with our life? The answer is “No!” There is nothing you should do with your life and there is nothing you must do with your life. Your life is just that—your life. You are free to decide what you want to do with it. You do not have to live up to any “other or higher order.” Your life here is everything you have and you are free to pursue your own happiness. Realizing that your life is YOUR life is the most important step in your life plan. In fact, if you get only one thing from this book, let it be the message that your life is YOURS. That is why I have included the message here, right in the beginning.
How You Arrived Here
Before we really begin, let’s look at how you arrived where you are today. Think back to when you were a child, trying to make sense of the world. You were naturally curious about everything, from the immediate people around you to the world as a whole. The world is configured in such a way as to help children
understand the world. Children ask questions and the grown-ups answer. You even spend your childhood days in formal schooling so you can better understand the world when you’re an adult. It’s fascinating to see how children look at the world. They look at things objectively, without judgment or presumptions. They simply look at what is in front of them and gradually build their understanding of the world from what they see with little concept of self. You were once that little child. As you grew older, your understanding of the world increased. You learned about countries in far off places, people living in circumstances that are very different from yours. You learned about the physical world we inhabit and about the language we use. You also became more aware about other people and about yourself. You noticed how people treated you and how they treated each other. As a teen, you became very aware about yourself in relation to the opposite sex. As you continued to mature, you became aware of your own future, your career, and your life as a whole.
“What do I want to do with my life?” It is the most important question to answer in any person’s life. It is “The Question.” Yet the way it is commonly asked today—“What should I do with my life?” — is disempowering, it is the wrong way to ask it. The right way is to place responsibility for the answer with yourself: “What do I want to do with my life?” with emphasis on the “I want.” The word “should” smuggles in guilt; it implies there is some higher order that we must live up to other than our own happiness. It suggests that we have an obligation to something or someone other than ourselves. Don’t we all have
something we “should” do with our life? The answer is “No!” There is nothing you should do with your life and there is nothing you must do with your life. Your life is just that—your life. You are free to decide what you want to do with it. You do not have to live up to any “other or higher order.” Your life here is everything you have and you are free to pursue your own happiness. Realizing that your life is YOUR life is the most important step in your life plan. In fact, if you get only one thing from this book, let it be the message that your life is YOURS. That is why I have included the message here, right in the beginning.
How You Arrived Here
Before we really begin, let’s look at how you arrived where you are today. Think back to when you were a child, trying to make sense of the world. You were naturally curious about everything, from the immediate people around you to the world as a whole. The world is configured in such a way as to help children
understand the world. Children ask questions and the grown-ups answer. You even spend your childhood days in formal schooling so you can better understand the world when you’re an adult. It’s fascinating to see how children look at the world. They look at things objectively, without judgment or presumptions. They simply look at what is in front of them and gradually build their understanding of the world from what they see with little concept of self. You were once that little child. As you grew older, your understanding of the world increased. You learned about countries in far off places, people living in circumstances that are very different from yours. You learned about the physical world we inhabit and about the language we use. You also became more aware about other people and about yourself. You noticed how people treated you and how they treated each other. As a teen, you became very aware about yourself in relation to the opposite sex. As you continued to mature, you became aware of your own future, your career, and your life as a whole.
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