malcolmsfinalIt’s easy to get overwhelmed in this crazy world we live in. There are countless things that we worry about all the time – bills, income, figuring out a career, finding the right car, tax season. Even the little things like figuring out what to make for dinner tonight. The point is, it’s easy to feel like life is just too much sometimes – like you’ll just never get it right.
Chances are, you’re reading this right now because you’re taking a breather from something important. You have a 9 to 5 , or maybe you boycotted school and/or a “real job” in favour of the heavy hustle of self-employment. You constantly wonder (read: incessantly stress) whether or not you chose the right path. You don’t even know where this path leads and you feel like your time is running out. These tips will help you put it all into perspective and provide some clarity.
Pinpoint Your Dissatisfaction. You first need to know what part of your current life is troubling or unsatisfactory. Reflect on different aspects of your life to figure out which are frustrating you the most. Try closing your eyes and questioning “What part of my life dissatisfies me the most?” Whatever comes to mind first is probably where you’ll want to start.
Create A Habit of Journaling. Journals provide you with a space to process your thoughts, evaluate your fears and dream your dreams. It reduces ambiguity. Writing regularly in a paper journal or maintaining a daily blog will allow you to track your progression to happiness. Apart from visualizing how to better your current predicament or take your life to the next level, writing it down makes it seem more achievable and helps to lessen your anxiety.
Ask yourself what you really want. You may or may not have an answer to this already and if you don’t there’s no need to panic. Your response may be silence, a shrug, or “I don’t know.” You may reply with a vague, hazy answer or a toned-down version of what it is that you really want. There is no incorrect reply. Attempt to overcome the fear that you may never find happiness or that you don’t deserve to feel content. Also, let go of any guilt and recognize that your hopes and dreams have evolved.
Practicalize what you really want. If you have been able to do the aforementioned. Elevate your response by expanding upon those glimpses of honesty in your answer. For example, if your original reply was “I want to be happier with my career” you would elevate your answer by identifying people, places, or things that make you feel happy. Continue to push your answer further until it is specific enough to be identified.
PS: This process may take a while. Remain patient, allow yourself to feel frustrated, but never dwell on the impossibility of your answer.
Allow Your Answer Lead You To Your Calling. Although I am not a big believer in “finding your calling” it helps to describe this step in a universal manner. Allow your answer to guide you to happiness. Don’t worry about the when, where, or why.
Identify your superpower. It does not have to be anything grand and unique, simply identify your gifts. Your gifts are your strengths, they are what you are good at doing. Compile a list of your strongest skills. Your list will include practical skills, like filing taxes, social skills, such as listening, and interpersonal skills, like evaluating a situation or having a high level of self-awareness. In addition to self-reporting your strengths, take a gift or skill inventory test. The results may reveal new gifts or affirm your evaluation of your strengths.
Implement. Incoporate this into what you are already doing or begin a journey towards what you want to be doing. The key is not to allow yourself to be pressurized by the idea that you are running out of time. No matter how long you think it will take, it is important to allow your strengths, interest, and passion keep you on course.
Hold yourself accountable. Reach out to your social circle for help sticking with your goals and building better habits. Make a post to your larger social media network, verbalize your plans in front of family or friends, work with a buddy, or create a rewards system to stay accountable.
There are days when you feel like a boss and nothing can stop me, and others when you walk around in circles, stressed and utterly overwhelmed for no good reason. Whatever age you may be, please know, you’re not supposed to have it all figured out. Life is meant to be unravel into surprising and amazing. However, that shouldn’t be an excuse to live a life you are constantly frustrated about when some aspects of it are literally in your control and you can change at will. Let us know in the comments if this is helpful 🙂
