There’s a season for everything
What do I want to do with my life?
This question plagues so many people.
It plagued me for decades, too.
“What do I want to do with my life?” stopped being a problem for me when I started asking a better question.
Instead of trying to figure out what I want to do with my life—my whole freaking life!—I started asking myself what I want to do with this season of my life.
This seemingly small distinction is actually a life-changing reframe.
Viewing your life as seasonal gives you space to play. It allows you to try things without knowing if they’ll turn out to be the be-all and end-all.
Too many of us get stuck in jobs / relationships / places / patterns that don’t serve us because we want to be sure the next thing is going to be “right” before we even attempt it.
The irony is, standing still until you’re certain all but guarantees you won’t find what you’re looking for. We learn, grow, and change in one way: through action.
Action is the opposite of stagnation. There’s no right or wrong, and there’s a season for everything. You’re always right on time.
As my coach often reminds me: You can’t mess it up.
It’s all just material for the story of your life.
When you start thinking about your life this way, as a long book with many chapters—some short, some long; some clear, some confusing—there’s less pressure to make every page perfect.
It can be revealing to look back on your life and identify the different chapters. Usually, the most memorable ones have bumps in the road.
I did this once and noticed a pattern of major direction changes every 7(ish) years. The chapters I remembered most fondly were the ones when I took the most risks.
What patterns do you notice when you look back on the chapters of your life?
Which chapters felt the most fulfilling and purposeful? Why?
What chapter are you in now?
This isn’t about judgment. It’s about curiosity.
If you’re in a period that feels misaligned with the person you want to become, acknowledge your self-awareness then ask yourself what you want to create next—without the pressure of it needing to define the rest of your life.
This is not the last chapter you’ll write.
It’s actually just the beginning.
