Great advice from one of the most successful humans in history. As for following this guidance? Well, that can be excruciatingly difficult.
How can following your intuition, your dreams, your “gut” be so difficult? How can we be so heavily influenced by outside forces-good or evil- that we willingly give up what we want or need? Do you even know what you want? Hell, do you even know who you really are?
Yeah, let’s step back. Many of us are so stuck on the question “What am I supposed to do?” that Steve’s words are like 5000lb weights on our soul, making things worse, not better.
I wrestled with this question for many years. I struggled, I fought, I resisted. Looking back, I made things much more difficult than they needed to be. I was too scared to be honest with myself. To be fair, I didn’t really know what being honest with myself meant.
I was afraid of what others would say or think. I was afraid of losing what I’d built. I was afraid of losing my husband who doesn’t really get what I do.
I got to a point where I was tired of fighting. Exhausted really. I’m sure many of my friends and family members were too. I mean, how many times can you ask someone what they think you’d be good at before they’re like, “unsubscribe me from this conversation.” Luckily, I have some amazing people in my life.
Turns out, I’ve known what I would be good at since I was 12. I just didn’t believe it. I don’t regret the years in between. I have gained skills and knowledge along the way that are imperative to what I do now, and for that I’m grateful.
So what’s my advice to you if you’re grappling with finding your “thing”, “passion”, “reason for being”?
- Stop pushing so hard
- Honor your talents
- Live honestly, and kindly
- Don’t over analyze it
- Recognize that your “real” life is happening now, not waiting for you to catch up to it sometime in the future
- Relax, you haven’t wasted any time and it’s never too late
Final thought: just get started. Don’t worry about being perfect or doing the perfect thing. Chances are you’ll do a few different things and spend some time growing before you feel like you’ve found what you’re looking for. It’s ok, just enjoy the ride.
