What are you doing with your life?
Oooo, that’s a question I don’t like. But at our age, we get asked it the most often. What job do you want? What do you want to do with your degree? How’s your relationship going? Are you thinking about marrying this person?
What are you doing with your life?
It makes me frustrated and annoyed just writing it now. You might be like me. Why though do we get this way?
When the people around us, especially those that care, question our choices in life, we automatically want to retaliate because we’re afraid that they’re right and that the answer to their question is we DON’T know what we’re doing.
Truthfully, we aren’t frustrated at the people asking us this. We’re frustrated that we don’t have it all figured out and doubt whether or not we’re on the right path.
Our minds love to cause doubt because it keeps us from doing hard, scary things like interviewing for that job and facing nerves, being vulnerable and opening to someone in an intimate relationship, and moving to new, uncertain locations. When our brains offer us self doubt, it only wants us to be safe.
It’s so easy to believe that something must be wrong we doubt ourselves, that we should have our lives figured out from the very beginning and see every danger and trap along the way to keep us safe.
Yet the fantastic thing is the opposite is true.
You’ve never been more on the right path when you doubt yourself. Your brain loves to predict the future, yet it never can. And so when you do ANYTHING that’s bigger than you’ve ever done, you’re going to doubt yourself.
Doubting yourself means you’re chasing your dreams.
So how do you respond when someone questions what you are doing with your life?
Be honest.
Yes I’m uncertain. I don’t know what I’m doing. Yet I trust myself. I trust that I can do hard things. I may doubt myself, but that means I’m on the right path to figuring out if this job or relationship or move or life altering decision is right or not. Chasing my dreams means I’m going to be unsure.
And even if it doesn’t go my way, that’s okay. I’ll be just fine. I’ve got my back.
It’s that kind of response that will replace the doubt with self-confidence.
The greatest gift you can ever give yourself.
Believe that you’ll be okay, no matter what.
