Carry On, Warrior.

Traveling on a road despite the uncertainty existing around me. In my journey over the last several months of trying to figure out which path to go on, I learned a lot about those factors that led me to ultimately discover what I think I’m meant to do.

There are four distinct lessons that I learned in how to find the right direction in life. Stop over-thinking. So much of our stress and anxiety about the future stems from the analysis and thinking we do, and questions we ask ourselves. I recall nights lying awake, entertaining ideas and wrestling with my soul. I tried to figure out where I would end up and often felt defeated before I even began. The reality is that no matter how smart we may be, we cannot predict the future. Things are moving so fast and we’re so interconnected that it is impossible to predict where you’ll end up five years from now. By recognizing and accepting the unpredictable nature of life, we can stop over-thinking and start living in the present moment. This helps to open the mind up to the possibilities of today.

Try anything. Do something. When you take action and start doing things, you begin to feel better almost immediately, because instead of thinking about some far off place in your head full of uncertainty, you will be working on something that is really certain: your actions. So many times, I used to get caught up in the chaos of life and was consumed by it, until I realized that while I cannot control what will happen tomorrow, I can control the actions I take every single day. That’s the real beauty of life, knowing that you have absolute control over each of your thoughts, words, and actions. And by trying, moving, asking, engaging, experimenting, and walking forward, it puts you one step further than where you were yesterday. And you just never know where that one step will lead you.

Follow your inner voice. Confused and overwhelmed with so much information, at times conflicting, I just didn’t know what or whom to believe. I just let go. I let go of all evidence and started following my gut. I took chances; I took small steps walking forward in the dark. I may stumble, but I will get back up, and move in a different direction. As they say, the first step was the hardest but I eventually found my way, not because some data point on a career chart showed me which way to go, but because I started to trust my inner voice. I’ve not even arrived at my final destination, there are many more stumbles and walks in the dark ahead. But at leas I am out there doing it.

Believe in yourself. When I first started exploring new opportunities to find the right direction in my life, I found myself overwhelmed. Turning to some didn’t offer any respite, instead of encouraging me, they attempted to bring me back. Feeding me with seeds of self doubt, it took me some time to recover my momentum. And it was in the positive voices of so many others that I found encouragement to keep at it. It felt like they were talking about me. And in that positive lens, I found the light inside of me to bring forward the resiliency that lay dormant. No longer suppressed by someone else’s ideas of the way things ought to be, I continued on my newly discovered path. The more I focused on my own voice and the voices of encouraging friends, the more I grew to believe in myself.

Although for some, finding the right direction might require the journey of a lifetime, I do believe that there is one direction that we are all meant to go: forward. By taking small steps each and every day, putting aside over-thinking, and realizing that you have everything you need deep within, you can find the right direction in your life. And while it may not be the direction you expected, it will work out just fine.

Your ability to focus on your desires is the ability to decide your own direction. Listening to the random, albeit positively intended opinions of others that say you should choose one thing to do or one thing to achieve is neither right or justified. Other’s opinions are not objective. They are based on previous own experiences. Even if they are based on previous experiences they are the previous experience of others, not yours. What didn’t go well for one person does not apply to you. You decide which path to take and which direction to go in. It’s your life, live it your way. Always follow your dreams, trust in your ability to make the right decision.

The simple answer to lasting happiness: living your purpose. While purpose is a nice concept that is often overused in the personal development space, it can be a lot to sink your teeth into. It’s one thing to believe in the idea but an entirely different one to viscerally experience and live it.

Until you find your own life path, you will forever be trying to follow someone else’s. The inauthenticity will eat you up. Without a path, your true potential will be lost. But to confidently begin the journey, you must better know the traveler - you.