What To Do When You Don't Know What's Next
You have to be okay with knowing that there will be crossroads that will disarray your plans.
dekazigzag / Shutterstock By Paola Angeline
We all reach that stage, don’t we?
The stage where you don’t know what you’re going to do next.
The stage wherein you’ll be filled with countless questions like, “What degree should I choose?”
Or, if you’ve already chosen, “What am I going to do with this degree?” “Should I stay in this situation?” “Will I want to spend the rest of my life doing this?” “Should I...” “Will I...” What, when, how...
You’ll be overwhelmed with so many uncertainties that there will be days where you will be tempted to stop, take a quick breather and re-think every decision you’ve ever made.
You’re probably racking your brains for answers, but can’t seem to find any. I mean, you’ve always had your whole life planned out, so why does it suddenly feel like you’re in a maze you just can’t seem to escape?
Sometimes, it makes you wonder if you made a wrong turn somewhere; thinking of what could happen if you have opted for plan B.
You ponder whether you’ll be better off selecting that other thing because, really, there must be some mistake here, right?
There’s no way you could be having this dilemma. You’re past this.
Wrong.
Even if you had the answer to, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” mapped out by the first day of kindergarten, it doesn’t mean you’re all set for the future.
Take it from me; I once wanted to be a teacher, and then I realized that I didn’t have the patience to deal with kids or teenagers. I then decided to be a doctor.
Now, let’s just say I’m currently in the same boat as I assume you are, seeing as you’ve read this far.
My point is, you’ll never really know what you’re going to do next. And you have to be okay with that.
You have to be okay with knowing that, most of the time, no matter how perfect you think your action point is, there will be crossroads that will disarray your neatly-organized scheme.
You have to be okay when the time comes that what you once thought will make you happy unexpectedly makes your heart feel heavy.
You have to be okay with yourself.
Frankly speaking, the only way for you to get through this maze is by dealing with it and patiently looking into each path laid out in front of you.
So, stop fretting and lift that chin up.
You’ve got this. We’ve got this.
Paola Angeline is a writer and former contributor to Unwritten. Her work focuses on lifestyle and relationships, and has been featured in Huffington Post, Elite Daily, and others. Visit her author profile for more.