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I need to start living, but I don't know what I want

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  • This topic has 11 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by Sage.
Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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  • #52614
    Alex
    Participant

    Can anyone help me? I am in a rut and I want to start living my life, but I am so confused about what I want and how to be fulfilled in life.

    I am currently unemployed, single, living with my mother and have very few friends and no money. I was in this same rut some years ago, and then I went travelling to Asia. I travelled around and ended up working out there for about a year. Although it wasn’t all great, at this time I think I felt the most alive, confident and happy as I ever have done in my life. I decided I wanted to stay and travel more, or at least go home for a while and come back soon for a long time. Then I met someone, got into a relationship and moved back to Europe. This was a bit different. I enjoyed being there mostly, but I missed my home, my culture and friends. The relationship was also complicated, and eventually it ended and I moved back home where I am now – London.

    I arrived back home broken with no money and no career. For the last year I have been studying web design, and now I find myself in this position and I need to get on with my life.
    But the problem is I don’t know what I want anymore. I chose to study web design for two reasons, – one, I do have some interest in it and it is creative; and two, it is location independent. I feel a constant need to escape to another country where no-one knows me and start again. Here all the same old friends are around who have known me for years, and I feel like I just go back into being the person I don’t want to be. But maybe I am just trying to run away? When I was in Europe, all I wanted to do was come back here, and now I am here I constantly want to get away again! I just don’t know if I fit in here. I think London is a great city though, and I am older now and need to think about making a future somewhere. Except I want to live in a hot country.

    Now I need to find a job, but when I think about it I am terrified. I have not really worked in an office before and when I think about applying to web design jobs I imagine myself in an office, not knowing what I’m doing, with some people I don’t like, commuting on packed trains everyday with miserable people, slaving away everyday like a drone, and living for the weekend! This is something I never wanted to become! I believe life is for living and you have to do things you love or important things! And yet ironically, I find myself not living at all and watching days and weeks disappear.

    Maybe that life would be okay, if I had lots of friends, and a girl and started a family, it would be worth it. But I don’t have any of those. I’ve never had many friends. I am quiet, introverted and kinda shy and socially awkward (although I have become more confident over the years), so I don’t expect to be popular, or to be able to find a fulfilling relationship. That is why I loved it when I was living in Asia, I felt much more confident. And so how can I fit in in the highly competitive world of London!?? I am too laid back…

    I have never really been concerned with making lots of money or having loads of things. I just want to live a full life. A life of experiences, a life where I can contribute something good to the world. I always wanted to do something extraordinary with my life. But now I get older I don’t want to end up with nothing in 10 years….

    Anyway, I have rambled on enough I think.

    I don’t think there is any solution to my problems, except to just get out there and do it. I have to just find a job and face it. I just hope I don’t get stuck in it and wake up in 20 years a lonely man in a city of lonely people…

    If you have read my post, thank you 🙂

    #52624
    Cory
    Participant

    I could not identify with you more.

    I am very much like you. Always been rather quiet and a bit awkward. I found solace im being involved in things where I was crearly odd one. That reminds me of your experience working abroad. Alot of my more confident periods were when I was in a serious relationship. That made me feel like a better me. So it gave me conferenceIin the rest of my life. Still it was inly temporary.

    I dont have a lot of friends and am not motivated to go out and find them. I like people but more often then not I feel highly uncomfortable in social settings. The friends I have I dont particularly enjoy any more but they are what I got. Same on the career front. I have 3/4 of a BA and no real ambition to finish because I dont want to end up working for the weekend either.

    By what I know and have experienced you are right. You / we / anyone needs to just get out there and try. Try and fail and try again. It is discouraging but you have to exept failure as a part of your journy.

    What have you take steps towards? The web design idea sounds promising (im actually thinking of the same career, further similarity) Do you ever force yourself to go out some where to meet people? Any social grouls you might enjoy in your area?

    Im happy to swap stories and such if it might help you.

    Best,

    Cory

    #52626
    Eli
    Participant

    HI ALEX, JUST A QUICK REACTION AS I AM REALLY BUSY BUT HAD A STRONG CALL TO REACT.

    READING THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS THE FOLLOWINGS CAME TO ME CLEARLY
    1/WEB DESIGN AS A WORK, AS YOU HAVE ITS PICTURE UNFOLDING IN YOUR MIND IS CLEARLY -THIS WAY-NOT FOR YOU

    …” design jobs I imagine myself in an office, not knowing what I’m doing, with some people I don’t like, commuting on packed trains everyday with miserable people, slaving away everyday like a drone, and living for the weekend! This is something I never wanted to become!”…

    QUESTION, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BECOME? GO BACK IN TIME AND SEE YOURSELF IN EACH DECADE(?) WHAT WAS IN YOUR HEART AS A FEELING FOR WORK? HOW COULD YOU USE YOUR PRESENT JOB TO PUSH YOU TOWARDS THOSE IDEAS?

    YOU CHOSE THIS PROFESSION BECAUSE YOU BELIVE
    …”I chose to study web design for two reasons, – one, I do have some interest in it and it is creative; and two, it is location independent.”…
    SO INDEPENDENCE OF LOCATION AND CREATIVENESS IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU. LOOK FOR WAYS TO USE YOUR TALENT COMBINED WITH THESE WISHES.

    …”I decided I wanted to stay and travel more, or at least go home for a while and come back soon for a long time.”…
    THE WAY YOU DECIDED THE WAY YOU CREATED YOUR REALITY.

    ALL THROUGH YOUR TEXT I FEEL THAT YOU ARE STRUGGLING BETWEEN BEING COMFORTABLE COMPROMISING WHIT THE KNOWN OR GET OUT THERE LOOK FOR THE UNKNOWN, FOR NEW CHALLENGES “UNPREDICTABLE RISKS OF ANY KIND” TO FACE WITH ETC.

    WELL, IF YOU DO NOT TRY YOU WILL NEVER KNOW, RIGHT?
    DOES COMPROMISING FEEL GOOD?
    WHAT ABOUT GUT FEELINGS? INTUITIONS?

    GET FROM YOUR TEXT OUT ALL THOSE NEGATIVE SENTENCES AND TURN THEM INTO POSITIVE ONES.. TRY TO SEE THE DIFFERENCES THEN.
    THERE LAYS YOUR REAL WISH FOR LIFE
    THERE IS NOTHING, NOTHING TO LOOSE JUST OPPORTUNITIES AND TIME -AS YOU WROTE IT TOO.

    WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR MIND AS PICTURE OF YOUR REALITY THAT IS GOING TO MANIFEST IN YOUR LIFE.
    MIND YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS!
    CHANGE THEM AND START TO BELIEVE IN YOUR STRENGTH!
    ———————————-

    HAVE NO MORE TIME, GOTTA GO
    GOOD LUCK

    #52631
    Amic
    Participant

    We’re the same… Except I don’t even feel good about my own skills… So I’m struggling with that. I want a simple life yet this competitive world has no room for mediocrity…

    #52635
    Laura
    Participant

    I definately understand this, right now, and at many other points in my life I feel like I am moving from chapter to chapter waiting for everything to just click! I get so worried sometimes I’m going to wake up and realised I have drifted through life waiting for something yet having no idea what it was. Will definately be keen to hear any advice on this!

    #52636
    Cory
    Participant

    I dont think you should consider yourself mediocre. Having cac simple life does not mean it will be bland. Think about what you could do if u had a career fo focus on. That might give you more confidence in other areas of life.

    #52656
    Kline
    Participant

    Hi Alex, I can relate to what you are saying. A book that has helped me lately is 7 habits of highly effective people. I have heard of this book for years, and thought it sounded cheesy, but I can relate to what Steven Covey says, and I think it has a lot of spiritual connections, even if he doesn’t talk about what these connections are.
    I think it is possible to take two steps – one is to take time to intentionally sit with where you are each day. Don’t just let the days pass, but actually schedule 30 minutes each day to sit comfortably and say to yourself, “I am going to spend time with this problem.” Don’t try to judge yourself, and don’t try to figure everything out. That is what you do for the rest of the day probably. But take a break from those knots in your mind, and just sit without judgement.
    Another step, is to be very honest with yourself about something you truly enjoy doing – not something that you think you should like, , but instead think about what you really enjoy, savor whatever is in your mind, and then take a small step to go for whatever it is.
    For me, I had to look carefully at my enjoyment of sports. Yes, I love exercise, but when I was very honest with myself, I realized there were times I actually did not enjoy exercise, because I was doing it for the wrong reasons (at times) – I was in some race to keep my body in shape, for sake of pleasing an image placed in front of me by the media. But when I really sat for a while with my enjoyment of sports, I found I could be more authentic with what I was doing.

    You are doing well, because you are reaching out for answers, keep reaching out – you will find them.
    There is nothing that says you need to stay in London – although you made a point similar to this quote – “If you don’t find Truth where you are, where, do you think you will find it?”
    But if after some time of sitting with this, if you still feel promptings to leave, – I think that is following your intuition, which is one great source of Truth.
    And finally my advice is this – find your spiritual spring – that may be a church, mosque, synagoque, or buddhist temple – i am sure there are so many options in London. The leaders and teachings of these great places are waiting for every person.

    #52674
    Al
    Participant

    Alex,

    You are a liberated mind. I am delighted that you posted.

    Conforming to the ‘plan’ of our respective societies (though they are basically all one and the same) is a great objection of mine. I must apologize here for I will have very little to offer you (as is the case when I answer other posts).

    I fully agree with your last sentence. Your goal, your dream, your meaning is what you must now strive to work towards. You must now utilize everything at your disposal (mainly your brain) in order to obtain what you seek. The difference between those that find happiness and those that don’t is the effort they put in. I hope you continue to strive on and tackle all difficulties that will surely come your way for no goal is ever reached without a mountain to climb above of it.

    As for advice, while retaining the goal is important remember that the journey there, too, is just as so. Do not condemn all other experiences, even the small ones, on your way to your goals for all that you undergo will give you a valuable lesson to absorb.

    With this said, as another fellow human being I wish you nothing but the best on your journey.

    Good Luck!

    Al

    #52724
    Alex
    Participant

    Thank you very much to everyone that has replied. 🙂 I really appreciate your comments. I will have to read through them all again to try to extract as much from them as I can.
    I need to think more on this, but I thought I’d try and post a quick reaction.

    I think someone was saying about finding my passion? Well, music is my passion. Playing the piano brings me a lot of joy. When I was 15 I was sure I was going to become a rock star! 🙂 I went on to study music. But yet I’ve never made anything out of it. A lot of it is down to me, I never worked hard enough on it, and perhaps I relied on people to help me become successful when I should just rely on myself. Music is not something I can give up, and I still believe I could make a career in music (whether that’s true or not). Even so, I don’t think I can just go back to music now. I need to focus on finding some income and having some stability in my life. I can continue music at the same time.

    So that is one reason I chose web design. I am a creative person and want a creative career. And web design being location independent, I felt I could have that career while being able to be anywhere in the world, and still fulfil my desires of travelling. In truth, if I had some money saved up right now, I would definitely just go to some country and try to live there for a while. But I have none. And I don’t know how to find a job in a foreign land especially when I am new to a field and have no experience.

    When I was living in Asia, I felt almost opposite to how I do now. I felt strong, and confident, and was so full of optimism. I knew everything would work out fine. Here I am full of negativity and doubts. There I didn’t have much in the way of money or possessions, but I didn’t mind. I had more friends, but mostly local people. So were they real friends or just liked me because I was a foreigner??

    Cory, you mentioned having a career to focus on. I would love this. If I had a career that I was good at and could put all my energies into I would find it very rewarding. Then I wouldn’t need to focus on socialising or my lack there of. 🙂 But if I was to do this, it would have to be a fulfilling career. Something that is worth something and gives something back to the world. I don’t really think web design is this is it? Web design is more like marketing, and advertising, which I respect, but it is not really giving something to the world. It is more like tricking people into doing something to gain more profits. Sorry if that offends anyone in marketing, it is a skilled job too.
    I’ve thought about humanitarian and disaster relief work, but from what I gather it is very hard to get into unless you are highly skilled and experienced in the sought after roles.

    Kline, I have seen that book and I almost bought it before! I will definitely have to go back and take another look and get a copy. Thanks! 🙂

    I am an all or nothing person I think. I want to embrace the journey, I would accept the failures and the bad times. I want the highs and the lows. I want to feel alive! I just wish I knew which direction I should go so that I could focus in that direction.

    I guess what I’m looking for is a career which is creative, rewarding, gives something good to the world, and lets me travel a lot. Any suggestions?? 🙂

    #53096
    jon
    Participant

    I think you should go to some nice warm country or where you picture yourself being and living. Leaving home is hard and the comforts will never quite compare to anything else you can find, but with a direction and a purpose life has meaning and you can be happy. I have found that solitude is ok sometimes but living a life alone and just doing things because they seem right is not the way to go. Try to talk with a close friend or family on the matter that you feel comfortable talking to. Although this is helpful, you will probably get better advice from someone who knows you better and can help you make a decision.

    #53430
    allzil
    Participant

    Gosh Alex, we’re in the same boat, only I’m in Vancouver and the place I ‘escaped’ off to was Colombia… I have had a really hard time readjusting back to life in my PARENTS’ house, with my SISTER who I do *not* get along with. And a community that has disappeared, which was something I was very engaged with in years past. Feel very alone in this city now… and a barrage of male “friends” that have finally all chaotically left my life. I was teaching English, rock climbing, making music too….down there. Went twice, two years in a row – as return tickets were the same price as one-way. I went down originally because my parents decided we would go traveling there for a month, and I just stayed, and man, at the beginning…the first couple of months I was just high on the energy of living there. Being alone. Being independent. Living in a dangerous city and making it work really well. Making friends… But I didn’t pursue the English gig nearly as much as I should have. I didn’t make enough money, out of laziness and pot smoking and pleasure seeking. I didn’t practice and record nearly as much as I should have, basically for the same reasons, plus a bit of fear of success/failure………. I could really ramble on a lot longer, but…I’ll just synthesize to a key point. Do everything 100%. If I had regrets – which I don’t, as I’ve somehow managed to delete that emotion from my possible range… – it would be to have not done everything half-ass. I also have very high expectations for myself and with this habit I am basically letting myself down all.the.time…. We are better people when we commit and follow through, but not just to see, with one foot in the water…no, really just do it. What is there to fear, really, after all? Following this advice is difficult as f(#* but so much worth your while to try try try..

    Very late quick post. More to come? x

    #53802
    Sage
    Participant

    I can resonate with you so much. The problem at root is social anxiety. You/we see the world differently whan most people. We have no interest in getting to know new people because the fear eventually led to a hardening which led to a numbness in that area. It’s not healthy because human beings are mean to be social beings even if for just a fraction of the day. I struggle with wanting to have a rich social life while also wanting to be alone to recharge.

    There is an untapped power within that you must release. The thought of waking up in 5 years from now and being in the same predicament would be a rude awakening. Take back your life now and get out of your comfort zone. It seems scary but think of it this way: we are all nothing but meat and flesh coated skeletons with brains. The opinions of individuals comes from there own conditioning. Live in your own truth, meditate and get out as much as you can. Be curious.

    Now excuse me while I go apply some of my own advice to my own life. 🙂
    Keep your head up!

    #166754
    Bartros
    Participant

    Well, I am glad I am not alone in this. Not cause i wish others misery, but cause it is nice not to be alone in trouble.

    Maybe somebody got over it and has a piece of advice?

    I am struggling with it for a while now, hoping it will be fine, but in reality it is worst. I will not go into details, cause in general it looks just as you guys have described.

    :/

     

    Bart

     

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