Here’s an interesting question I spotted on the findapath subreddit a few days ago:

(edited for length)

I was wondering if anyone might have an idea about what’s “wrong” with the people who don’t know what they really want to do with their life professionally, or struggle finding their passion?

What kind of situations (trauma, experiences) in our lives might have had something to do with that?  Is there a pattern?

I added my two pennies’ worth on Reddit.   

And I'll share here too.

My take is this:

There’s nothing wrong with anyone who doesn’t know what they want to do with their life professionally, or who's struggling to find their passion.

The only thing that is wrong is thinking there’s something wrong.

This might sound flippant, but I don't mean it that way.

I used to think the same thing.  I had no idea what to do after I quit banking. 

At first, I thought this was a problem.

There can be pressure right now to know what comes next, as the questioner suggests.

But life doesn’t always work that way.  

I don't think you can really know what you want to do (or don't want to do) before you do it.  

I spent a couple of months working on a nutrition product for poker players before realising it wasn’t what I wanted to do.

And this illustrates my point nicely.  I thought the poker product was a great idea.  But I had to start working on it to know it wasn’t right for me. 

And maybe, in a funny sort of way, “doing it” is all you ever need to do.

Because what I’ve realised is that it’s not finding the thing which matters.  It’s figuring out the thing.

Or, put another way, the path itself can be the passion.  

So key for me is getting started on something.  And not letting the thought “is this really my passion?” stop you from getting going. 

With all this being said...

If you’d like a hand figuring out your options and some gentle encouragement to get going, click this link to set up a call with me.

And we can chat about how I can support you.

That’s all for today.

 - Tom

p.s. Got a question about finding more happiness and fulfilment at work?  Hit reply and let me know