What do I want to do with my life?
A friend on an e-mail group recently asked us this. I’m going to be 30 soon, and I feel like it’s too late… Many of us responded to her that 30 is not even remotely close to being “late,” and gave ideas for how to make a decision. This response, though, struck me enough that I asked the author permission to post it:
Honestly… I’m gonna be 38 in March… I still don’t know :) But I have learned something. Knowing what you want for the rest of your life isn’t for everyone. I happen to be a person that doesn’t need to know what I want to do forever as long as I can take stock of my life and be content with it. Sounds weird, I know. But it’s true. Every once in a while, I stop and look. Like when [husband] was sick. I realized that being on the fast track to a corner office was NOT where I wanted to go with my life. So I looked for something to do out of my house. I taught myself web design. I look around now…I’m not thrilled with my health, I’m happy with my work, I’m happy with homeschooling. So, I’m changing my ways so I can be happy with my health.
Just remember the rest of your life is a very long time.
(emphasis added)
Sometimes, I have to remind myself that it’s *okay* to not always know. I have a general idea of where I want to head, but don’t feel that I can really do anything about that until after we’re done having children. (That’s a big change that’s come from getting married. Given the chance to actually have another child or two, I want to do so while I’m still young enough.)
As my husband and I discussed my career path (I snorted, “career? I don’t have a *career* — I have a job.”), he commented that there seemed to be many things that I was willing to consider. My online friend summed it up for me very well when: as long as I can be content with my stock in life, THAT is what’s important.
Just thinking…
Posted by Allison in it is what it is, direction |
January 27th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Good thoughts…I’ve always kind of balked at the idea that I had to limit myself to picking just one thing to do with the rest of my life.
I know what you mean about feeling a bit “on hold” until you are done having children. I really had to fight that feeling (it was making me feel resentful…the same may not be true for you) and instead find ways to get excited about the job that I am doing right now (mothering) as well as doing things for my own enrichment.
Now that we are “done,” part of me feels excited to forge ahead into new projects, and part of me wants to relax & savor this baby/toddler time since I know it will be gone before I know it! The same mantra that gets me through difficult moments - “This is temporary, this is temporary…” is also true in the reverse: this sweet moment is fleeting. Why are the best things in life also the most hardest? Maybe that is part of what makes them the best.