If you still don't understand what to do in life, forget about spiritual travel to India: answer these 10 questions and start making your dream come true today.
Last week I told you about how important it is never give up, don't let go and keep fighting, always and in any case.
Yes, nice words, but fighting for what?
Anti-procrastination techniques, personal productivity tricks and time management tricks are completely useless unless we have the faintest idea of What to do in your life.
Without a North Star to guide us along the crossing, we risk drifting, or even worse, mooring in the first port along the way, forgetting that our existence can reserve much more than a few pitchers of beer in a squalid tavern.
Have one purpose in life it allows us to overcome any obstacle, it helps us to understand what is important and what is instead only stealing our time and energy, it allows us to find motivation even on the darkest days.
I have already proposed to you in the past two practical exercises to find your purpose. This is essential for understanding how to be yourself in everyday life.
The many comments and emails from readers made me understand that something more was needed, an article that could dispel the fog that often surrounds us ...
"In the middle of the casino of our life" (cit.).
I then decided to share with you 10 questions, questions that I have asked myself over the years and that have helped me (and are helping me) to give the right direction to my existence. I hope they can prove just as powerful to you.
What do I want to do in life?
Maybe it happened just before you chose the university, maybe it was at the end of that important love story, or you do it every morning before unmarking the tag for a job you hate.
It matters little.
Many of us have asked the fateful question at least once: "what do I want to do in life?".
The legendary Corrado Guzzanti would say:
"The answer is within you, yet it is wrong."
That.
I am a bit more optimistic: if you still haven't found the answer to this question, it's because you haven't searched well enough.
To guide you in this research I have prepared for you 10 questions to understand what you want to do in life.
Grab a pen and paper or, as I did in the past, create a new note in Evernote.
Remember: there are no right or wrong answers, only your answers exist.
Write them straight away, don't let your rational side take over.
Some of the answers you find won't be new to you, but others might actually turn on a light bulb.
Here are the 10 questions I have prepared for you:
- What are you willing to suffer for today? Admit it you didn't expect a start like this. Para-gurus always ask us to think about what will make us happy, what will make us feel good, what will please us. These are simple questions. Instead, ask yourself what you are willing to suffer for, to make sacrifices, to fight tooth and nail, because these are the really important things in your life.
- How do you imagine your life in 5 years? We are so caught up in our daily routines that we never take the time to visualize (and build) the future of our dreams. Take 5 minutes, write down in detail what your life will be in 5 years. Who are you? What goals have you achieved? What obstacles have you overcome? Who is by your side? Where do you live? What emotions do you feel? How is your typical day? Define your new reality and then, every day, visualize yourself as you reach it. this error).
"If you don't know where you are going, you will never get there."
Lewis Carroll.
- What would you do if you weren't afraid? Fear is an evolutionary mechanism that has saved our buttocks over and over over the millennia; but today, when we no longer have to fight wild beasts or other dangers of nature, fear often proves to be an irrational brake that does not allow us to live our life to the full. If you want to figure out what to do in your life, take the fear variable out of the equation - a great way to do this is to use the "as if" technique.
- What would you do if you were sure you couldn't fail? Among the fears that paralyze us, the fear of failure is one of the most powerful: what would you throw yourself into today if you were sure you could not fail?
- What are your 3 biggest talents? "Earn thanks to your passions", "Turn what you love into your source of income", "Make money with your hobbies": the internet is covered with ads of this type, I myself wrote an article in which I explain how to create a passive income thanks to one's passions. In that post, however, I also say a little thing that many forget: "the purpose of your life is the intersection point between your greatest passions and the greatest needs in the world". It is not enough to be passionate about something to make it the purpose of your life, you must also demonstrate an objective talent in what you want to do. So ask yourself what your greatest talents are, what others recognize you as unusual abilities, what your unique abilities a person would be willing to pull money out of their wallet for.
- If you had an hour left to live, how would you spend it? Browsing on Facebook? Seriously? I wish you a long and satisfying life (and come on, stop raving!), But the truth is that each of us walks around with an invisible label that has its expiration date printed on it. Maybe it's an unpleasant picture, but no matter how annoyed you may be, you can never change this simple truth. Being aware of it, on the other hand, can help you understand what you really want to do with your life. If you need another nudge, I recommend that you read the Seneca's letter to Lucilius.
- When was the last time you felt alive? Can you remember what you were doing the last time you experienced an overwhelming feeling of happiness? If you haven't found your direction in life yet, these moments of contentment are the "breadcrumbs" that will help you find the right path. A tip: in my personal diary I have a special page where for years I have collected the happiest moments of my life. Rereading them from time to time helped me understand what I really wanted to do in the years to come. Ps. if you can't remember the last time you were happy, maybe you should start applying the a little more often Law of the Garbage Truck.
- What are the 5 things most important to you? You know those post-apocalyptic films where the Earth was hit by a virus / asteroid / alien attack and the few survivors find themselves living as in the time of cavemen? Well, if it really happened, what would be the 5 things you would miss the most? These 5 things are most likely the constants of your life: whatever you decide to do, keep them in mind Ps. no, Nutella is not among the acceptable answers.
- What work would you be willing to do even for free? For 2 and a half years I have dedicated most of my free time to GetPersonalGrowth, without earning a euro: this is because money, as much as I love to do it, is not the only motivation that led me to create the blog. Oh, but what a good Samaritan you are André: a tear fell from me. Forget that I work for gratise! What work would you be willing to do every day, with sacrifice, if you knew that there is no salary waiting for you at the end of the month? This question is the best answer I can give to all the people who are tormented by the infamous: “I don't know what job to do”. The same goes if you are a student and you don't know which university to choose: ask yourself which subjects you are willing to study for 10 hours a day, on weekends and when your friends have a great time at the beach. Well, to be honest, applying the Sm2 method you may be able to prepare twice as many exams in half the time, but even the best of study methods requires commitment and constant practice: which university course are you willing to put that effort into?
- Who is the person you most admire in the world? Each of us has their role models, that is, people whose life is a constant source of inspiration. These models can tell us a lot about who we are and who we want to become. Try to understand what you admire so much about this person and you will understand what you really want to achieve in your life.
Were you able to answer these 10 questions? I hope so, but even if you didn't succeed immediately, I hope that the answers you will find will finally help you understand what you really want, because when you understand it you will become unstoppable.
Oh I forgot… for what it's worth, I'd like to greet you with this clip from the movie “The Strange Case of Benjamin Button“.
