What Am I Going To Do With The Rest Of My Life?

Unexpected life changes. Anticipated transitions. Long,love of nature above all things? Or are you more of a
sleepless nights. What do these three things have in'comforts of home', family and fun kind of person? Do
common? The ability to provoke one of the mostyou value charity over letting others find their way on
haunting questions in the library of humantheir own, or is it the other way around? Knowing
introspectives:what you truly stand for is a vital component of good
decision-making.
"What on earth am I going to do with the rest of my
life?"5. What do I want to be remembered for?
While I can't pretend to answer to this question forWhat legacy do you want to leave here when you
anyone other than myself, I can offer those in thispass on? What do you want people to say about
position some basic tips on how to ensure that theiryour life and you as a person? What do you want to
future turns out as bright as their class valedictorianbe known for? What would you like your obituary to
said it would be.say about you? Knowing where you want to end up
makes choosing the path to get there, and keeping
Take Time To Create A Maptrack of your progress, infinitely easier.
Too often, when faced with a major (or even not soKey Points To Consider
major) life decision, we tend to either take the first
decent choice that presents itself or we allowThere are three key points to keep in mind when you
circumstances to choose for us by default - putting offare faced with making life-changing decisions.
the decision until the inexorable current of life sweeps
us past the turning point. As you can imagine, this is not
the best way to get what you want out of life. But the
options we are faced with in life can be so wildly1. Look before you leap.
divergent, or so deceptively similar, that it is difficult to
know which turning to take. Wouldn't it be great if weIn life, as in commercial marketing, "Buy now before this
had some kind of road map that would help us knowopportunity is gone!" is almost always code-speak for,
which paths to follow and which to pass by?"Buy now, before you have time to read the fine print."
True, from time to time real, honest-to-goodness,
Below are five questions that everybody should askamazing, once-in-a-lifetime offers do come around. But
himself or herself before starting out on any new path.if you have laid down a foundation of well-considered
The answers to these questions should then be usedchoices and clear-minded focus before this happens,
to guide decisions and to direct actions - when ayou will have the presence of mind and strength of
choice comes up, simply compare the various optionspurpose to know when to jump and when to pass,
with your stated desires and choose the option thatand be much more capable of telling the difference
takes you closer to (or at least moves you the leastbetween a missed opportunity and a close call.
farthest away from) your destination - your stated
goals and desires.2. Life is no longer a "one chance per person" event.
The times, they are definitely a'changing, and one of
the best things to come out of that change is that we
1. What does success mean to me?now understand that people change as well and that
not only is this normal, it is to be expected. The career
Be very specific. "I want to be rich," is not an answer -or life that suited you perfectly in your 20's will most
just what does "rich" mean, anyway? Are you thinkinglikely not fit the middle-aged you, no more than the
of a set number? And if so, why? Or is the term "rich"same wardrobe or lifestyle would. Sometimes this is
a substitute for certain freedoms and opportunities thatmerely the result of the normal process of personal
you view as coming only with money - and by limitingevolution we all go through as we age and mature,
them to being accessed only through money, are youand sometimes it comes about suddenly in response
missing out on other alternative pathways?to reality-shifting events and life-changing transitions
such as living through a traumatic event, losing a job or
Some more specific alternatives to "I want to be rich,"getting married.
depending on the individual, might be: "I want to have
enough net income to meet my current financialHowever change comes, be prepared to go with the
responsibilities without strain, plus have time and moneyflow. Don't worry about "all that time I spent in grad
left over for travel," or "I want to be able toschool," or what your friends and family will say. In the
comfortably afford a jet-setting lifestyle in New Yorkfirst instance, there is no such thing as "sunk costs" in
City," or "I want to spend 4 days a week at home withlife - 90% of nearly any education or life experience is
my kids," etc.100% transferable to new situations and new outlets. In
sports they call it "cross-training," and an athlete doesn't
consider his or her training complete without in. In the
second instance, well, if they love you they will want
You should try to come up with at least threeyou to be happy and if they don't love you, then who
answers to the question of what success reallycares what they think? Besides, they're not the ones
means to you personally, with each one reflecting awho have to live this life - you are.
different facet of what you feel makes up a truly
successful life. And keep the money issue to just oneAlso falling under this heading is the admonition not to
statement - after all, such things as personal fulfillment,trade a good life now for some nebulous "better
spiritual meaning and other essential needs and valuestomorrow," such as spending your life zombie-ing
cannot be solved, acquired or even influenced bythrough a career you hate for the promise of a
moneypensioned retirement. All too often, these "tomorrows,"
if they ever do come, are no better than the "nows"
One of the biggest obstacles to success is that mostyou wasted. And as often as not the stress of living
of us have never consciously explored what thatan unhappy life permanently cripples or even kills
means to us, aside from some vague and nebulouspeople, physically or otherwise, well before they can
idea of fame, fortune or other worldly success.get to their imagined golden "tomorrow."
Knowing what success really means to you - what
you hope or imagine that these generic definitions of3. Trying to find your "one, true purpose" is a waste of
success would actually provide and how you wantlife.
those things to physically look like in your life - allows
you to weigh your choices more accurately.We are all put here on this earth for any number of
reasons - some big, some small and most of which
2. What are my non-negotiable needs?we will never understand or even realize we've
participated in until well after they've become distant
List all the things that you envision as inescapablememory. Spending too much time trying to scry your
parameters of a successful and enjoyable life. Family,"true purpose" in the tea leaves of life can take your
travel, no debt, pleasant work environment, socialattention and energy away from creating the kind of
status, contributions to society, spiritual involvement,life that would actually support the accomplishment
public acclaim, love, excitement, comfort - any or all ofthese purposes in the first place.
these, and any others you can think of are legitimate
needs that when not met create an environment ofA far better is alternative to create what I call a
stress, want and disempowerment in your life."Groundhog Day-Proof Life." Based on the Bill Murray
Knowing what you are not willing to do without makesmovie in which his character has to live the same day
the relative values of different options clearer.over and over, this concept involves creating a life that
reflects your values, offers you opportunities to
3. What are my non-negotiable boundaries?challenge yourself and is fulfilling enough and just plain
pleasant enough so that if by some strange cosmic
List all the things that you absolutely do not wantfluke you became trapped in any given day of your
present in your life. If the idea of working in a standardlife, it would be a good thing rather than a tragedy.
hierarchical office environment makes you ill, put thatLiving this sort of life virtually ensures that you will be
down. If you can't stand the thought of living in a coldwho and wherer you need to be to fulfill any purpose
climate, add that to the list. If being poked fun at aboutyou may have been sent here to accomplish, while at
your physical condition or other attributes makes lifethe same time providing you with a wonderful and
unlivable, note that as well. By knowing what you willrewarding "rest of your life" in the process.
not tolerate, many choices become much easier to
make. Plus, it allows you to set down rules and policiesSummary
about who and what you will invite into your life and
the standards of behavior you will, and will not, tolerate.Getting the most out of life isn't about living "right". It's
about living well. Learning to consciously steer your life
4. What are my key values?in the direction you want to take it, making the choice
to live by your own set of values and desires and
Spend some time searching your soul to come up withmaking sure that you get the most out of the limited
a list of your basic values, creating a life around whichdays you are given to work with ensures that when
would make you the person you want to be and allowthe time comes for your life to pass before your eyes
you to live the life you want to live. Are you the typein review, the show will definitely be worth the price of
who values honesty, clean/green living and a deepthe admission.