How to remind yourself of why you do what you do in moments of frustration and doubt.
What’s up everybody, your favorite career philosopher has returned from his episode of writers block with a passion that rivals the heat of a thousand suns. As we begin enjoying the good weather outside, so too must you be ready to frolic in the pleasure of irrefutable knowledge and enlightenment sure to come from these hands that spin liquid gold out of ordinary words.
In the last 2 months of my life, I walked among you, my constituents and clients. I listened and I observed. I sought to understand your greatest troubles and fears, your wants, your desires. It is with utter certainty that I describe the following scenario for most of you.
Each of you is talented and hungry, eager for adventure, challenge, and learning. Most if not all of you are better than me at basically everything. Woof. That being said, you are one confused and anxious lot. I only say this because in the conversations I have with 99% of people between the ages of 20 and 30, basically everyone is doing the whole self discovery thing and feeling a whole heck of a lot of uncertainty.
Now that we have identified a problem, I want to suggest a solution, one I invented and have been testing out for a few weeks.
Theoretically, of those who are ambitious and career-driven, the individuals who tend to be the happiest are probably also the ones who don’t get all stressed out amidst conditions of uncertainty. With great tasks come great risk and uncertainty. It is those who don’t crumple like ritz crackers in the Mojave that persevere and manage to enjoy their lives in the process.
Therefore, it is important that as you are discovering your next great projects and endeavors, you do not let the uncertainty rattle you too much.
Without further ado, here is my suggestion to remove anxiety and nervousness from your daily life as you strive to do whatever it is you hope to do. Go ahead and write a list of all the wonderful and exciting things you want to try your hand at during your lifetime. These are meant to be personal and professional. Here is my list:
- Sales
- Entrepreneurship
- Philanthropy
- Fitness and nutrition
- Extended travel
- Graduate School
- Be outdoorsy
- Discover a new way to pursue and measure fitness and health
- Read
- Learn from others
- Write
- Get involved in conservation efforts
- Marriage
- Invest in Family
It doesn’t matter how specific or not they are, and if you forget stuff you can add them later. Just write the things you care about engaging with in your life. They just need to mean something to you.
Once you have your list, carry it around with you. Put it on your phone, or if you are crazy like me, put it on a piece of paper and leave it wherever you tend to have your moments of deep thinking.
The purpose of this is twofold. First, it is meant to clearly outline what it is you think you care about, and what it is you hope to pursue. Once you have it written all out, if you are ever feeling uncertain, feeling a lack of confidence, or just feeling confused, you can remind yourself of what you are doing and why. You can feel assured that everything on your list comes with challenges, and that it is ok to feel whatever it is you feel. You won’t have to sweat the small stuff.
Second, it is meant to give you a dose of perspective in your moments of doubt. You will have many things on your list, and you will notice that each of the items on your list have claimed the right to a spot for different reasons. Life is wonderful in many ways, and when you are feeling frustrated or confused with one focus area of your life, seeing what else you have on your list, and what else you are working towards, can help.
I look forward to getting some feedback on this approach.
One other update: In addition to writing on my passion for understanding life decisions and how we ought to navigate them as a young professional, I also read on this topic a lot, and I have decided to include a book list for you all. Stay tuned!