Before I fell ill I remember feeling this intense pressure of thinking I should know exactly what I want to do in life.
I can’t even begin to recall the amount of times I got asked the question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time?”.
Despite the fact I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do, we all grow up in a society where we’re lead to believe that everyone else knows exactly what they want to do in life and they have everything mapped out and planned, when the reality is the majority of us don’t have a clue.
Even though I’ve come a lot closer to knowing what it is I want to do now, I know there is no set path, and that’s okay.
I’ve come to learn and accept that nothing is ever permanent; what I want to do now I may feel very differently about in a few years time.
Both myself and life in general are constantly changing and growing, so trying to map out a set life for your future self seems like a pointless task as you cannot pre-determine who you will be in five years time or the circumstances you will find yourself in.
I’ve become so much happier with the idea of going with the flow in life, seeing what opportunities and ideas come my way, and always doing what feels right in that moment.
By letting go of the feeling that you should know what you want to do in life, it also means you start to open yourself up to so many different opportunities as you are no longer constricting yourself to one path.
Another problem I find with questions such as “where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time” is it means so many of us are constantly planning our lives ahead, always thinking about what’s next.
While this is sometimes important, it is even more important to recognise that you are only alive in this moment, and if you live your life constantly planning for the future you will miss out on all the moments that are taking place right now.
As Eckhard Tolle says, “Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now. And that’s a revelation for some people: to realise your life is only ever now.”
So next time someone asks what you want to do in life or where do you see yourself in five years time, you can tell them you’re just going to live each moment fully and let life surprise you 
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I want to leave this post with a brilliant quote by Sally Coulter:
“It’s messing people up, this social pressure to “find your passion” and “know what it is you want to do”. It’s perfectly fine to just live your moments fully, and marvel as many small and large passions, many small and large purposes enter and leave your life. For many people there is no realisation, no bliss to follow, no discovery of your life’s purpose. This isn’t sad, it’s just the way things are. So stop trying to find the forest and just enjoy the trees.” 🌳🍂
(Originally posted on @mindfullyevie Instagram and Facebook)
