What Am I Going To Do When I Grow Up?
How to Find Out What You Love to Do
I can’t help but envy people who have always known what they want to do with their lives. I keep thinking that at some point I’ll surely feel the same, I’ll know exactly what I want to do and where I need to be and I’ll be content as I am. Somehow, though it just keeps evading me.
I think I’m perhaps not supposed to be that lucky, for some reason I’m supposed to stay in this state of constant flux. Searching for answers when I’m not even sure what the question is. It goes much deeper than just the need for continuous learning. If it was just that, I think I could reconcile it more easily.
It’s like I’m a round peg in a square hole, although I’m not really, I’m pretty safe in many respects, I have never ever wanted to stand out.
It’s just, when will I think “oh that’s it, that’s what my life is all about?”. It’s not that I haven’t got achievements that I’m proud of, I have plenty; my son; my career; my business and my running and walking challenges. All those things mean and have meant the absolute world to me. It’s just I still have this overwhelming sense of, “I’m not done yet”. And maybe I will never be done and I have to realise that this is the essence of who I am. Always moving on to the next cause, the next challenge, the next idea. I don’t have to settle for just one thing. And that’s okay.
I always thought that when I reached my fifties I’d slow down a bit, I haven’t, if anything I am more conscious of time passing and not wanting to waste it. It’s like how many more books can I read, how many more places can I go and see, how much time do I have to spend with my family, how many more mountains can I climb.
And even though it’s tiresome not being able to switch my mind off, I actually really hope I’ll keep this sort of energy and determination going for a long time to come.
I actually started writing this over two years ago and such a lot has happened since then. I’ve moved house; my awesome son met someone very special and left home and moved to Northern Ireland; I went through a break up and then a while later I met someone amazing and he moved in with me; I lost my beloved cat Izzy; I adopted a rescue greyhound (we actually have 3 between us now) and my partner also has 6 wonderful children; oh and I have found another new passion in my life; motorcycling! So writing has naturally taken a bit of a back seat for a while as things have changed so much for me.
I didn’t stop writing completely, for a while, I thought I might want to change my profession and become a freelance journalist and that is where the theme for this article originated.
Writing is an art form, and I’m still very much developing the skill. But it’s something, along with reading, that I really enjoy and I hope through it, to lift both myself and others up.
With that in mind, the last month has been particularly challenging for me and I’ve really struggled to maintain my positivity at times. It will be really helpful to build on some of the small changes I have already made and remind myself how far I’ve come on the journey so far and keep pushing forward…
In their book “ Don’t Do Stuff You Hate” — Isaac Moorehouse and Mitchell Earl explain that discovering what you love to do is a long and difficult process.
“None of this is easy, and you are never done. You change, and what makes you come alive changes. The journey toward it is endless and adaptations of your goals continuous.”
They present the concept that it is easier to work out what you hate doing and cut that out, than it might be to find your passion.
“Think of things you know you hate doing or things that bore you or make you feel dead inside. Don’t do those. Try new things and add to that list whenever you find something not for you. Make it your goal every day, every week, month and year to reduce the number of things you do that you don’t like doing”.
It sounded like such a simple idea when I first read the book and I have managed to start implementing it. To be fair, probably not in as full on a way as the authors talk about, but I have definitely opened myself up to new things over the last couple of years. I have moved, as I mentioned earlier, this was so I could be nearer the mountains for daily walks, I am also learning to ride a motorbike and I’ve met loads of lovely people along that journey. I’ve also given up ironing as a particular pet hate of mine and now I don’t work on Mondays and I definitely say no to things I don’t like the sound of more often than I used to.
Sometimes, when you try something new, or revisit a old hobby, it can ignite a spark in your soul and light a fire inside you.
“The world is waiting…It won’t be given to those who simply follow the rules and don’t upset the apple cart. It will be discovered- it will be created-by those daring enough to seek adventure and live life on their own terms.”
I am still on my 365 day journey, #365small changes, what difference are you going to make in your life?
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