It’s easy to slip into roles that are assigned to us by other people. It’s less complicated to live the life that’s expected of us rather than fight for the one that we really want. It’s often simpler to fit in and follow others even though we might want to break free and lead our lives our way.
The easy, less complicated, and simpler options are not the right ones if we haven’t chosen them for ourselves. We only get one life to live and it’s up to each and every one of us to make the most of it. Yes, that includes you. You deserve to be happy and create the life you want, not the life other people think you should be living. If you don’t currently know what you want, there’s no time like the present to start figuring it out.
Do You Know What You Really Want?
I was a late bloomer in terms of finding out what I wanted to do with my life. What I’ve discovered since is that I wasn’t the only one. There are many late bloomers out there. There are also people who thought they knew what they wanted but now they’re not so sure anymore. I’ve spoken to people from the ages of 18 to 80 about this topic. It turns out that many people go down a certain path for many years quite happily… until they’re not happy with the direction they’re going. Suddenly, they want something different. But what exactly that “something” might be can be hard to figure out.
So, let me ask you again, do you know what you really want?
Ask yourself these two questions:
1. What Do I Enjoy?
The first step to finding out what you want is asking yourself what you enjoy.
What do you like doing? What “work” do you do that doesn’t feel like work?
Maybe you enjoy writing like me. Maybe you love working with animals. Or maybe you have a knack for photography. The point is to figure out what you love to do, and then do more of it in your free time.
2. What Do I NOT Enjoy?
What don’t you like doing? What bugs you the most about your current job?
Maybe you hate meetings and you’re forced to sit through six hours of them every day. Maybe you dislike your boss. Or maybe you used to enjoy your job but now it bores you.
Be honest. Pretending that you enjoy something you actually hate is a hard act to keep up long-term. It’s exhausting. And lying to yourself won’t get you any closer to finding out what you really want.
If you want something to change in your life, you need to take action. Which leads us to one more question:
How Hard Am I Willing To Work To Get What I Want?
Unless you have a fairy godmother or a genie in a bottle stashed in your back pocket, getting what you want isn’t easy. It’s going to take commitment and hard work. Lots of hard work. You will probably have to step out of your comfort zone. But as the saying goes, “No guts, no glory.”
It’s Never Too Late.
Even late bloomers can flourish. If you’re not satisfied with the direction you’re going in, it’s never too late to change course. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that it’s too late. And remember that knowing what you want is the first step towards getting it… then you just have to keep going, one step at the time.
My Famous Last Words 
Your life is your story. Don’t let anyone else write it for you.
That’s all from me for now. I wish all of you a great day!
– Altea
