Module 45 - What do I really want in life?

Leadership & Personal Development Blog Series

When I was growing up, I was asking myself this question many times – “What do I really want in life?” Many different ideas come to mind when you ask yourself this same question. For some, it’s finding a good high-paying job, to live in comfort, and for others it’s helping and supporting other people through volunteering and non-profit work. But what you I want to do? That was the top question on my mind for many years. I didn’t want to be in a job where all I do is collect a paycheck and stay miserable. It wasn’t until college when I knew what I want to do in life, and it wasn’t due to classes that I attended or lectures that I sat through. Somehow it came to me naturally thinking through my prior failures and all the mistakes that I had made in the prior years as a teenager who was born and raised in another country, and now living in the United States, going through all of the difficulties of someone who is new to the culture, lifestyle, expectations and country in general. This was me in my first year of college. I am sure that many of you who are reading or listening to this can absolutely relate, if you ever moved to live in a different country or even different state within United States.

So, going back to my failure analysis. I knew that I want to help other people to avoid making similar mistakes in their life by sharing my experiences and my knowledge acquired over the years. And, I am not saying here that mistakes or failures can be eliminated completely but, perhaps, the impact of those mistakes can be predicted or better calculated and reduced to the minimum. I found my passion, my passion for personal development, learning, and leadership.

One question that helped me to uncover and understand my passion was: “What do I wish I had or done as my younger self?”

The response came to me almost immediately – I wish that I would have invested in my personal and leadership development earlier, several years earlier, so that I didn’t have to wait several years of my life searching for my passion. To some this comes naturally, but with me it was not the case. It took many years and many failures and mistakes, and long hours of self-reflection and searching somewhere deep inside of me, until I asked myself the question mentioned earlier. It was the question that had changed my life, because, I finally knew what I want to do, I knew my lifetime dream.

I feel that self-learning is a very important for anyone interested in personal development and growth. So, learn as much as you can, anywhere you can. One thing that should never stop is your desire to learn.

If you are still asking yourself: “What do I want to do in life?” then ask yourself the same question I did: “What do I wish I had or done as my younger self?” and see what kind of responses you will find somewhere deep inside of you.
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It does not matter where you are in your life today, what career you had chosen, or how much money you make at this time. If you are not happy where you are today, then you still have not found your passion in life. As Mariah Carey said: “If you believe in yourself enough and know what you want, you’re gonna make it happen”

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