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How do you figure out what you want to do when your older?

How do people know what they want to do in life and when do they figure it out?

  • I am 21, student of Computer Science, I have all my options open. I will graduate in July.I scored great in all of my courses. I think since I wanted to excel at everything, I just forgot to figure out what I love the most. But the good thing is I get excited by whatever seems new to me: from UX design to Machine Learning, I like it all. I asked a lot of friends the same question before asking it here, but I still am not sure how to figure it out. How do I know what I want to do in life?

  • Answer:

    I’m not a CS person so I’m going to keep my answer generic, I hope it is useful though. I know what you are doing, because I've done it too.  The mental gymnastics and big-picture thinking that come with figuring out life.  It’s fun, it’s exciting, everything is open! You bask in the warmth of possibility. And you want to nail it down so you can move forward!  I want to get started with life, let’s go!! Except…the energy you have now to figure it out can turn into anxiety and disappointment down the road because you haven’t done what you wanted, you didn’t move fast enough, you’re on a path you don’t like, and you closed doors you didn’t want to.  Damn life, stop moving so fast, I want to get off!! If I’ve learned something the hard way, it is you don’t figure out your life when you are 21, 31, or even 61 (we'll see, I’m not quite there yet).  And you shouldn’t try.   Here are a few reasons why; You’re taking your future self-hostage: the person you are today doesn’t know what your future self wants You will discover new possibilities that you can’t even imagine now, stay open to them Picking one path, can often lead to disappointment if you feel you are stuck; This is a huge, immense question and for dreamers like you (and me!) it can be impossible to answer, so you just go round and round. Life is LOOONG. Really long, and your working life will also be long.  You have plenty of time to invent, reinvent, and reinvent some more.  This happens now more than ever - just look around Quora. So don’t try to pin down your 'life' or figure your 'life' out. How about doing this instead, why not figure out what to do NEXT, as in 2-3 yrs down the road?  And just leave it at that?  Unless you opt to ‘become a drug addict and spend all my money supporting oppressive military juntas,’ you won’t go down a road you cannot come back from, I promise.. Here are some rules to follow to get the most out of the next 2-3 years: Be ok with moving in circles, not forward - Pursue options, explore hobbies, talk to people in different professions.  You have boundless energy in your 20s, use it.  Even if you don’t settle on one track and move forward in it, you have plenty of time to do that later. At the same time, don’t be afraid to sit still. There is something great about working at a place or in 1 profession 2 years or more.  As long as you are climbing the learning curve, who cares? Don’t give in to sunk costs.  If you’ve invested time and money into education or years at a firm, something your younger self wanted, but now you don’t, don’t be afraid to walk away.  So many people are beholden to sunk costs (I went to school for this industry so I have to stay in it) and it makes them unhappy. In short, you are doing exactly what you should be doing. Keep doing it.  And even after 2-3 yrs, never stop dreaming about what to do next, never. Always keep your mind open and try new things.  All I’m saying is stop trying to figure out the rest of your life, or settling on 1 thing. That is as impractical as it is futile.

Ellen Vrana at Quora Visit the source

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What makes you happy? A small exercise- Consider the following situation- You are in a closed room, provided food and whatever you need to survive,and also WHATVER YOU ASK FOR,  what is it you will do? Write books, Code an OS, Build an Automobile? Find your PASSION. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”-Steve Jobs.

Tarush Jain

Join any personality development classes or listen to any youth motivator or talk to any career counsellor :p

Anonymous

Most people figure it out whole hey are in high school or college. Others just wake up one day and realize they have some sort of calling. Its not when or how you figure it out. What's important is that you figure it out. A life without passion isn't worth living

Oremo Ochillo

You try different things, learn new skills, meet different people and finally you wear yourself out & figure which of your skills you're good at & want to stick with.  Just don't drag it too long, choose your skills carefully & do something with them to earn money.  You can always persue hobbies on the side, but first focus on skills that pay the bills & help you save money for future hobbies.  The sooner & faster you start, the sooner you feel you made it.  And don't forget to keep the talented (smart) people you meet along the way in your life. You get ahead faster with a right group of people.

Anonymous

I'm not very sure how to find what they want to life but I can say what they are doing is not they are wanting to do in life... It's simple to find When you are worrying abt Monday on Sunday night and when you are eagerly waiting for Friday on Thursday evening thats when u can say to yourself that what you are doing is not what you want to do life

Ragaventhra Prasath

I suggest working for a small company as oppose to a large company so that you can wear many different hats and get broad knowledge and experience or do several internships in different fields for diverse companies.  I also believe in getting expertise in all the open source languages as to avoid developing a narrow skillset but the key thing is to try different things and see what you like to do.

Ivan Chan

Nobody ( read all the famous and successful) has /had a *uking clue about what they want to do in life. They just try out bunch of different things and stick with the one that turns out to work.

Manish Kumar

Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Fill out: mission builder- Franklin Covey, available  online. It will give you some clarity about what you want to do with your life. Talk to your parents, they will help you to plan your ling term goal. Learn  some new technologies, if you find them easy, they are for you.

Seema Shah

You might figure that out eventually, but for the most part you will discover what you want to do in retrospect. You probably won't go head-first into that dream job that will "just click" with your personality & skills - the odds are against it. But here's the secret: that's okay. I thought I wanted to be an Air Force Pilot before I discovered all the other aspects of that life. I tried being an electrical engineer before the math overwhelmed me. I thought I wanted to work on commercial projects before I found a different way to help my country. You don't know enough about the reality of your paths & opportunities yet. Why should you? You're just now getting out of college. There is so much more to discover about what's out there. Most likely, you'll have an idea that you haven't begun to consider yet. You'll have an opportunity that excites you. You will discover something that makes you enjoy what you do on a daily basis. It may be code, it may be creating a new device, it may be charity work it may be acting, it may be teaching, it may be parenting... whatever it is, you won't recognize it until after you say "Wow, I'm really glad I tried that out." Pay attention to your life. Watch for the things that excited you. Watch for the opportunity that interested you and you seized it. Watch for the weird thing that you didn't think would interest you until you tried it. Because only after you try it on for a while will you recognize it as what you want to do in your life.

Brian Hepler

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