Most of us often question ourselves about our purpose in life, right career path and determination or lack of clarity which can be a cause of lot of frustration and anxiety. To feel safe, we usually need to know that we are heading in the right direction. Only that direction is hard to find. I always liked people who knew exactly what they wanted in life, how they intended to get there and it seemed like nothing could stop them on their rise to success. Then one day at University, a professor asked us if we had all decided what career we wanted to pursue and most said no. To our surprise she told us we were very fortunate for this and told us a following story.
In her adolescent and later years (the professor), she was never sure of what she wanted to do in life. She just couldn’t find one steady thing to hold on to. On the other hand, her best friend was always certain that one day he would become an astronaut and work for NASA. To make a long story short, he did make his dream come true, he left Italy, moved to the States and started working for NASA. I don’t know if he ever went to space, but he was happy with his job and enjoyed a lot of success.
Years later when he reunited with his childhood friend he confessed to her: “You know, I always envied you for one thing and I still do.”
“What is that?” she asked curiously.
“Well, unlike you, I always knew precisely what I wanted and what was my real calling. All my life I worked hard and I made that one dream come true. But your lack of clarity led you to try a lot of things, experience life in so many different ways and discover passions you didn’t even know you had. I wish I was more open to different possibilities instead of just chasing one big dream all my life.”
photo credit: h.koppdelaney via photopin cc
