Tags: #advice-to-my-younger-self This is tongue in cheek, of course. You will likely decide what you want to do with the rest of your life several different times, but here's an approach I've attempted to articulate, which I've absorbed List what you are good at. List what you like to do. List what someone would be willing to pay you to do. If you become financially independent and no longer need to give a fuck about what someone will pay you to do: List what you believe the world needs. find the intersection and pursue that. but also, it's okay if what you pick turns out to not be a good fit. just try again until you find something that sticks. you might be the type of person who is cracked up on the narrative that you have to have everything figured out by the time you graduate high school, by the time you graduate college, so here's what I say to you: 1) if, like me, you are prone to analysis paralysis, don't worry about having your life figured out. don't get stuck dwelling. just do. barrel into life head on. 2) you don't need to find your one true calling right now. you need to get out into the world and do shit. it's unlikely that you will land on your one true calling on the first shot. so try a bunch of different shit and maybe you'll find it. maybe you won't though, and that leads us to... 3) it's not a big deal if you don't find your *work* to be your one true calling or passion or whatever the fuck. it's completely fine to go to work, do good work, collect your check, go home and hang out with your loved ones. that's completely fine. it's probably preferable. 4) but okay, you're the type of person who really wants to find a dream path in their work or some kind of work. once again, just get out there and do shit. try a bunch of shit and maybe you'll find it. list what you're good at. list what you like to do. list what you can realistically get paid for. it's probably super super niche and/or weird and/or difficult to get paid for and/or will require you to make compromises in other aspects of your life, but honestly, most people aren't cut out to really have or find a one true calling, the type we write stories about. if that's you, read number 3.