Has anyone ever asked you what you wanted? I mean really asked. If they have did you answer them then or wait. Or have you ever answered them? This is a dilemma we all have. What is it we want? Is it being healthy? A good job? Someone to share our life with. How would you answer that question?
Recently a dear friend of mine postulated that same question to me. She asked the question in several steps. The first was “what did I believe about work.” Second: What would the perfect job look like? Thirdly: Why would you do what you want to do? And lastly, what could you do every day to help achieve this?
These are all REALLY good questions but difficult to answer. It takes a lot of thought and silence to answer these questions. I have done a great deal of inner work over the last few years, but I don’t know if I have the answer to these questions. I believe I have bits and pieces but the whole answer…not sure about it. I read something once that said what you plan at age 20 will change by the time you are 40 or something similar to this (I’m paraphrasing here). So, what if what we started out doing in life changes over the years. Is this so bad. I don’t think so. And I do not believe it is a MIDLIFE crisis either. I believe our talents and interests change over the years just like our taste buds. When I was 15 or so, I did not like a lot of vegetables but now I love foods such as broccoli (still need that cheese sauce though), cauliflower, and even asparagus. So, our idea of what we want in life can adapt and grow just like our taste buds.
I don’t think we have to have the answer to the questions I posted above. I believe though we all need to do that self-discovery to see if what we are doing makes our heart and soul sing. I know I am still searching for what makes mine sing. We burn out of a job but what if we found that “longing or lifework” that makes us SING! Is that a bad thing? Today’s youth get it to a degree. I believe they do not have the confines of restriction on them as the older generations have.
So, take these questions and THINK about them. You don’t have to answer them. But really think about how you would answer them to yourself. What makes your HEART and SOUL SING??