What Should I Do With My Life?

What Should I Do With My Life?

While it is impossible for me to answer this question for you, I can tell you about what I did and give you the tools I used to gain clarity.

A few years ago, I was feeling unfulfilled by my job, where I lived, and my life in general. I was really struggling to understand what I wanted to be doing. I felt stagnant, lost, and hopeless.

Although I knew I was unhappy I didn’t know how to fix it. Whenever this happens, I turn to the internet for answers and simply (and funnily) googled “What should I do with my life?”. I scrolled through the results looking for something that resonated. When I came across a Japanese method called Ikigia, it looked right up my street. I love everything Japanese especially their philosophies on life (and organisation).

Ikigia (ik-e-guy) is your reason for being. It is your purpose or direction in life.

I am partial to writing down my thoughts and asking myself questions to get insight when I am in situations like this. It is important to ask the right questions and, in my experience the simplest questions are often the best. Luckily the Ikigia method satisfied all my requirements. There are four simple questions that you must ask yourself.

1. What is your passion?

(Something you love to do that’s effortless).

2. What does the world need?

(From your perspective what do you think this is?)

3. What are you naturally good at? (Maybe think of when you were a child. What did you gravitate towards?)

4. What can you get paid for?

(Think of your strengths. Can you or has anyone turned similar strengths into a profession?)

I found it easy to answer the questions, but I lacked confidence in whether or not I was seeing the whole picture. It can be difficult to see yourself objectively, so I turned to the people who know me best to get insights into how they see me. Through them answering the same questions, I learned a lot about the strengths and passions other people see in me. Along with reinstating my answers they highlighted things about me that I had never seen, and ones that surprised me because I had assumed, they were strengths or passions most people have.

Using the Ikigia method didn’t instantly answer the question of “What should I do with my life?”, but without a doubt it put me on the path to discovery. It allowed me to really think about what resonated with me, what I naturally love to do and evaluate if what I was currently doing aligned. It made me realise what kind of life I want in the future, how I want it to feel and look. Using this method can be the catalyst you need to get some clarity on what you want. It was for me.