Or something like that. Essentially, you are going to get older no matter what. You may as well do what you want to do now, instead of not doing it, and still being older and being unhappy.

Or at least I think that’s what I’m trying to say.

Good luck

I am 27 and I just signed up for summer classes at the local community college to make a complete life-changing career switch. I went to college right after high school, graduated in 4 years and then went on to various jobs: started out low paying, worked my way up, until I had a comfortable job making decent money in the field that I studied for. After 2 1/2 years, I was laid off due to the economic conditions…now there isn’t much in my particular field in the way of jobs which has made my job hunt that much more difficult. So, being a lost, mid-late twenties adult/adolescent, with too much free-time on my hands, I began to explore my options. I am feeling both good in that I’m going back to school, but bad in the way that I’m returning to ground zero. I’m glad though, because the sooner I get into this new career, the faster I can get started on a new career (always new things to learn)

Should I be upset with my life choices? Do I regret not deciding this future for myself sooner? Am I happy knowing that my little brother got started in this career field right off the bat and is currently where i see myself in 5-6 years? Am I making the wrong choice as far as careers go? Should I be going for a masters or furthering my education in the career that I know?

Just feeling a little lost at the moment!

-Paul

I think I am going to try to be inspiring by being myself, successful in areas I didn’t expect, and take joy in the stuff that really matters to me.

I was literally just thinking about this last week (I even wrote about it). I think you definitely hit on a key aspect of being a 20-something. It’s just as much about what we have done as it is about what we haven’t done.

I think I sometimes worry that my life – as happy as it is – isn’t “enough” for some invisible standards I’ve set for myself or that I think exist in the world. I feel like I should be doing more.

A lot of people are always shouting about “doing what you love.” But sometimes it’s not that easy.

But it’s a trap. Because we don’t know what our “potential” is until we actually meet it, so whenever someone tells you (or you tell yourself) that you’re not living up to your potential, it’s a load of hogwash. Neither you nor the people in your life know what that is.

The only thing we can do is try to make the best decisions for us NOW, since we are notoriously terrible at predicting what’s going to make us happy in the future (for instance, I am now dating my best friend for the past 8 years….for 7 years I thought he was just a good friend. I had no idea what our ‘potential’ was until we reached it. I have no doubts that there is more to come).

I think it’s natural for us to always wonder if we should be doing something other than we currently are – I do this *constantly*. The only thing that take me out of ‘freeze mode’ and utter anxiety is to do one thing at a time and see how that thing vibes. I learned that I didn’t want to be PA once I realized what I would have to do to get into school, and that it wasn’t worth it. I learned that I wanted to start a blog by realizing how much I worshiped my GRS feed. I learned that I didn’t want to get a PhD by talking to numerous and seeing how depressed half of them were.

It might seem like a slow process, but I’m pretty sure it’s the only one that works.

Thanks for the post – the best way to get people thinking is to share your own trials and tribulations.

Watch Fight club, it might help

But then again, I think people also hold on to some spark of hope regarding our core dreams and desires. I mean, hell, I still want to sing for a living. Do I honestly think it will happen? No. But do I get a little slice of fulfillment at the karaoke bar every week, and the occasional contests that I enter? Hell yeah!

Sometimes it’s just a matter of making little adjustments in your life and in your dreams, and finding a way to somehow incorporate them into your “real life”…if any of that makes sense.