Your late teen years and into your twenties can be a difficult time of searching and wandering through life. Plain and simple, growing up is hard. Hashtags like #adulting indicate when we're proud of doing difficult things like making a doctor's appointment, making three square meals a day or paying our bills on time.
It can seem like there are so many directions in life and you're always dealing with anxiety and stress trying to choose what you want to do. Here's three steps to help find direction.
1. What are you passionate about?
The path we are meant to take should set our hearts on fire. When I came to college, I thought I really wanted to be a high school Spanish teacher. I prepared for all of my high school years. It wasn't until I took a few Spanish classes in college that I realized I dreaded going to them. I loved my religion class, so I thought more about pursuing that path instead. I loved my faith and I loved sharing it with others. Once I finally switched, I felt like I actually belonged there!
2. What brings you the most peace?
This one goes along with your passions. When your inner desires are aligned with your life, your heart can be happy with your decisions. Intuition is a great tool that allows us to understand when something just isn't clicking right in your life. Listen to your gut, it's a really good friend.
3. What makes sense?
You can plan all you want, but life just happens. Everything happens for a reason. Doors in our lives are opened and closed, and we have to accept how that happens for inner peace in our lives. We tend to make discerning way more complicated than it needs to be, when in reality, your life is going to play out exactly the way it was meant to be. Let go, and let the rest come easy. You don't need to figure out what you're doing for the next 10 years. Focus on today, and the rest will come naturally.
Making decisions can be one of the most nerve-wracking tasks we will ever come across in our lives. I promise I am not an expert at this and I struggle all the time, but I have gained some knowledge in my 21 years of life. Follow these few steps, and trust yourself. All will be well!