Note: This article is taken from the writer Shawn Lim, who talks to us about several methods that help us know exactly what we want from life, and guide us on the path to success.
Many people feel lost not knowing what they want in their lives. There are many books about finding our passion and purpose. Self-discovery seminars are widely available. However, many people are still confused about what they want to do in life. If you do not know what to do in life, do not worry; this article will help you.
Most people strive for success in life. It is easy to say that we all want to be successful in everything we do, but what does success mean and what does it look like?
Every individual has a different definition of success because everyone thinks differently. Some people value safety and security, while others value adventure and creativity. Therefore, our desires may not reflect the desires of others.
If you want to know what you want to do in your life, you must first ignore other people's opinions and not compare yourself to them.
The First Rule of Self-discovery, “Listen to Yourself”
You are the one living your life, after all. Therefore, you ought to live it according to your desires rather than those of others.
I still recall how lost I felt before starting college and how I didn't know which colleges to apply to or what major to choose.
I decided to study civil engineering at a local university to become an engineer in the future, following the advice of my parents and most of my friends.
My family and friends recommended me to choose this university major. By the way, my father has worked for many years as a contractor in the construction sector. Have you ever wondered why I ended up choosing civil engineering?
I'm not suggesting that friends and family don't have a positive impact, but we need to look within to discover our career, purpose, or what we want to do in life. We must not let the opinions of others affect us if we are to succeed in doing so. However, I did not work in the construction industry or practice engineering. I started writing blogs and doing internet marketing. You're reading my article right now.
Les Brown, a well-known motivational speaker, was called a "psycho" when he was in elementary school. As a result, the young man began life with low self-esteem and low self-confidence.
Some even advised him to join the army or work in a post office, arguing that he wasn't intelligent enough and should only do tasks that didn't require creativity. Les was convinced by their opinions that he was not very good and that he would never achieve anything.
Thankfully, his mother supported him, and he got to know a teacher who had a profound impact on his life. His teacher gave him advice that fundamentally changed the way he saw the world: "Don't let other people's opinions become your reality."
Since then, Les decided to have faith in himself, in his ability to succeed in life, and that he deserved to achieve great success like others. He succeeded in doing so, rising to fame as a motivational speaker and touring the globe to deliver speeches. Millions, including me, were inspired by his story.
So, if you want to know what you want to do in your life, the first lesson is to never pay attention to other people’s opinions of you and never compare yourself to them. Once you understand this basic rule, you start the next step in discovering your passion, your purpose, and what you want to do with your life.
We will present 7 strategies for success in life, demonstrating the pros and cons of each of them. Some of them might require more time than others. However, discovering your goal and purpose in life is not a short walk; it is a long journey. So, try to allocate enough time to each strategy. The goal is to truly understand yourself, which is not a time-limited competition. All you have to do is enjoy the journey of self-discovery. When you discover what you want to do in your life, nothing will stand in your way.
7 strategies for success in life
1. Using the Blue Sky Technique for thinking
This technique simply means thinking creatively without being constrained by preconceived ideas or beliefs; that is, unlimited thinking that suggests to you that everything is possible. In order to find out what you want out of life, it is a great idea to generate ideas and visualize yourself in the distant future.
People often limit themselves to assumptions and current life circumstances. They might say:
- I need to work hard to earn money in order to live the life I want.
- My wife will never let me do this.
- I need to spend more time with my children and family.
- I will be old by the time I achieve my goal or make this change.
- I lack the required resources and my technical proficiency is lacking.
- I don't have a product and I don't know how to make one.
- I don't have time to exercise, let alone start an online business.
- I'm in debt and have a lot of liabilities, so I don't have the capital to start.
These are a few of the most prevalent obstacles that keep us from envisioning the future we desire. Here comes the importance of the Blue Sky Technique. You have to get rid of these assumptions and restrictions in order to know what you really want from your life. There are two exercises you can do to unleash the power of thinking using the Blue Sky Technique:
- The hundred million dollar question.
- The five-year exercise.
Let's discuss each of them in detail.
1.1. The Hundred Million Dollar Question
"What would you do if you had $100 million in your bank account right now?"
This question is one of the most powerful questions for self-discovery. The reason behind most of our limitations and assumptions is financial constraints. When we disregard money, we allow ourselves to think better and without limitations.
So what would you do if you had $100 million in your bank account right now?
- Will you distribute the money? How will you distribute it?
- Will you share some of it with your family members?
- Will you donate part of it to charities?
- Now that you have $100 million, would you still work for the same company?
- Are you starting a new business? What is it?
- Are you going on a trip around the world?
- Will you be heading to a car dealership tomorrow to purchase the vehicle of your dreams?
- Are you going to start a blog and share your travel experience with the world?
- Do you want to become well-known online and a YouTube influencer?
- Will you move to a different city or state, or will you remain in your current residence?
- Will you continue to prepare your own food because you love to cook, or will you hire someone to prepare it?
These are just some questions to ignite your creativity.
Now, take this exercise seriously. If you really want to know what you want to do in life, you have to be serious about it.
Write down what you would do if you had $100 million in your bank account right now. Ignore the idea that this is unreal or that it will never occur. The $100 million is just an idea to disregard the exercise's financial limitations.
I think we all have financial constraints and obligations in life, which often causes us to be too “realistic,” telling ourselves, "Traveling isn’t possible because we don’t have the budget or we don’t have the time because HR will never agree to give us time off."
Forget all these restrictions or limits that prevent you. Now that you already have $100 million in your bank account, you can live your life as you wish.
Will you sleep until you've had enough sleep, or will you wake up at 6 a.m. every morning? Will you live a luxurious life or a modest one? What would you do if you had $100 million and there was absolutely no financial constraint? Be serious, write down your answers, and think about the answers hidden deep inside you.
1.2. The Five-year Exercise
This exercise is easy and simple. All you have to do is answer this question, “Where will you be and what will you do during the next five years?”
The reason for choosing 5 years in particular is that this period is neither too long nor too short. It is good to know where we will go and what we will do in the future.
If you try to imagine where you will be in the next 20 years, the answer might be very vague and you might not know where to start. If you imagine where you will be in a year or two, your answer might not really reflect what you want because it will depend on your current life circumstances and the time frame is very short. Therefore, 5 years is a good time frame to start with.
Practice this exercise as you did with the $100 million question, and write down your thoughts.
- Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
- Will you be working in the same job at the same company? Or will you have your own business?
- Will you be in the same place as you or somewhere else?
- Will you continue to drive the same car, or will you have a modern, more luxurious car?
It doesn't matter if your answers are very realistic or unrealistic. The important thing is to apply the exercise so that you have an idea of what you want to do in your life.
What you want is to realize your destination. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to get there. In this case, it is best to focus on the question "where" rather than the "how." Where do you want to be in 5 years? You need an idea, an initial plan, and a vision of what your life will be like in the future to achieve what you want, not a detailed plan.
So, where do you see yourself in the next five years?
In Conclusion
In this part, we discussed self-discovery and the first strategy for success in life. In the second part, we will cover the rest of the strategies.
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