How to Find What You Want to Do with Your Life
I thank God every morning for making me realize what I want to pursue for the remainder of my life at such an early stage. In all my life, I have heard a bunch of people say, “I don’t know what I want to do with my life?” Every time I hear it, I fervently thank Load Almighty for being born under the lucky stars.
In my case, it was not difficult for me to find out what I wanted to do with my life: I realized what I wanted to do for the rest of my life when I was 17 years old. It is always and will always be there in the deepest heart. However, it is totally a different matter from realizing what you want to do with your life and actually doing it. I was afraid of taking a risk to walk on my private destiny ultimately, so it took me almost a decade to determine to walk on my private destiny for the rest of my life, no matter what.
I believe that most people know what they want to do for the rest of their lives, but they are afraid of taking a risk to go for it. Correspondingly, I believe that you know how to find what you want to do with your life; however, I will write down here how to find it so that you can remember again what you want to do for the rest of your life:
- Talk to your heart in earnest.
- Remember what your dreams were when you were a child.
- Think about what your fervent passions are.
- Introspect yourself on what makes you truly happy and excited.
- Listen to what your heart wants.
- Stop lying to yourself.
- Start telling the truth to yourself.
- Stop thinking about what other people think of you.
- Start thinking about what you think of yourself.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF TAKING A RISK SINCE LIFE IS EXTREMELY SHORT JOURNEY, SO PLEASE START DOING WHAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO – JUST DO IT!
You Will Never Be Ready to Start Doing What You Have Always Wanted
In all my life, I have heard of countless lame excuses from people why they don’t begin what they have wanted to do for their lives. Many people often say, “I will quit a job and start doing what I am really passionate about when the time is right; I cannot travel around the world right now because it is not the right time for me; I cannot spend my time on my dreams because I am so busy right now, but I believe that I will be able to have time in a couple of years, etc.”
Truth be told, there is no right time for you to start what you have always dreamt of: You will never be ready to start what you truly want. You just start doing what you’ve always wanted to do; then, you will be ready along the way. This is because when you follow your heart and do what you have always wanted to do, miracles start occurring in your life that you have never imagined and foreseen.
When I decided to knock about the world, I was not ready. I could not even speak English. However, I did it anyway. “Then what happened,” you say? I say, MIRACLES OCCURED. I described in Dance to Dreams: Making the Right Choice how I embarked on the journey of living abroad in spite of the fact that I was not ready:
In all my life, a bunch of my fellow countrymen have asked me what made me decide to see the world in the first place. They have wondered how I could encourage myself to embark on a journey of unknown adventure without speaking any English. Most Japanese people believe that it is necessary to learn basic English and practice speaking it until they feel confident enough to have a daily conversation with foreigners before moving abroad. I often surprise people when I tell them that I never studied English in Japan and had no knowledge of the language before moving to Canada. I felt like a simpleton embarking on my first odyssey into the world without any language skills.
My fellow Japanese always say to me with bewildered expressions on their faces, “It’s hard for us to understand the way of your thinking since ordinary Japanese think that we at least need a little knowledge of English and need to be able to express ourselves a wee bit with English before making such a vital decision to knock about the world so that we don’t feel insecure; we can avoid putting ourselves into the position, which we’re not able to handle properly. Do you understand, Shogo san? – We need to prepare for any sort of circumstances imaginable before starting a new life on unfamiliar continents. But you’re not worried about such trivial things and not afraid to risk starting a new life on unknown lands without any preparations. You just go, that’s all. You’re intrepid, so to speak. We really don’t comprehend what you think, and we’re unable to fathom how you do it all the time as if it were a daily activity to you. However, one thing is as clear as a blue sky: it required great courage for you to take the first step, and we believe that you are among the few who are elected to be able to leap into the unknown. And the simple fact is that most of us simply don’t have the same tremendous courage as you do, Shogo-san. That’s why we’re afraid of taking risks. Even if we want to act, we simply can’t. We feel powerless, and we’re paralyzed by the idea itself.
At any rate, do not postpone starting to do what you have always wanted to do in your deepest heart, which will definitely help you figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life. And for sure – you will begin seeing miracles along with your self-discovery journey.
Never Give Up!
When you start doing what you love the most and walking on your private destiny relentlessly, you will encounter numerous disappointments and feel discouraged, which are inevitable and a part of the journey, but do not let them stop you! It will be a long road to be ready to really begin what you are supposed to do; yes, it is really a long road that you cannot imagine. I know this since it had taken me eight years to be ready to begin writing the very first line of my first book. However, it is much worth it to persist in it instead of doing what you hate for the rest of your life to punish yourself.
Here is the description of my anguish in Liberation: Seeking the Meaning of Life:
Sometimes, we cannot explain how a certain thing occurs in our lives. Usually, it is the most crucial thing that you have fervently craved your entire life. You cry, scream, gibber, pray, and curse, but it never budges. Out of desperation, you swear that you will abandon your faith in Almighty God and will forever turn your back on Him while making the silliest defiant expression on your face. But it is not enough. In order to show your everlasting agony and disappointment with Him, you start pulling your hair out hysterically, dance sacrilegiously, and spit up to the heavens insolently, but it still does not budge a wee bit. It has become beyond your comprehension; you become dispirited to the point of giving it up – that moment, the thing somehow befalls upon you out of the blue.
Why Don’t You Start Something You Truly Love
If you are afraid of taking a risk to quit a torturous job to begin doing what you truly love, why don’t you start doing a small thing first? Then, you will know how happy you are when you start doing what you love, even if it is a small thing.
Life is supposed to be fun, so why don’t you start doing what you love every single day? We are all going to die eventually, so why not enjoy our lives to the fullest instead of regretting what we haven’t done when we are old?
One day, Gerardo, who is one of my best friends, decided to start something he truly wanted and jabbered it away like a happy moonstruck in Mexican Rhapsody: Having a Second Chance:
While his quest for true love is a work in progress, he lugubriously felt that something was missing in his life. One day, he came back to the apartment with a heart full of excitement and as proud as a peacock. He announced, “What? Are you still writing? Shogo, you need to take a break, man. I don’t want to disturb you, but you got to listen to me. Do you remember what I told you five days ago? I told you that I need to find something I really like so that I can be happier. In short, I’ve decided to join an American football team. I’ve already signed up and bought all football equipment and gear that are in my car, so I’ll show them to you later.”
I was so astonished by his foolishness and admonished, “Idiot, are you out of your mind? Do you really think that you can play American football? Look at yourself, man! You are as weak as a sad autumn fallen leaf. To top it off, your legs are as thin as chopsticks. They’ll smash you like a tiny cockroach. It’s sheer suicide, my friend. Do you really think that you’re able to compete with strong muscle dicks? For the love of God, please reconsider!”
“Shut up, man! Do you really think I’m not strong enough to withstand their tackles? You’ll see how strong I am. You won’t believe in your own eyes how I’ll knock muscle sons of bitches about like ninepins. Indeed, I can brow them into thin air with a single fart as if a cannonball blasted right beside them. You’ll see, my friend!”
“Okay, okay, cool down, idiot. If you say so, I’m not going to stop you. Anyway, how much did you pay for all of them?”
“I paid seven thousand and five hundred pesos.”
“What? It’s too expensive, man!” I exclaimed.
“I know, my friend, but listen to me,” he lit a cigarette and made a clean breast of his conviction, “I really need to change. I really want to try something I truly love. Since I was a little boy, I’ve loved watching American football games. However, I had never dared to play it. To tell the truth, Shogo, you’ve inspired me. Since you came back to Mexico City, you’ve written your book relentlessly like a blissful moonstruck. I thought I should start something I truly love so that I could get the same zeal toward life as you.”
Pause.
“As you wish, my friend. By the way, I’m happy for you because you’ve finally started doing what you really love.” I drank a sip of the cold Fresca in my hand and asked, “How many days are you going to practice a week?”
“Thanks, my friend. I’m so excited,” he smiled and gushed with pride, “I’m going to practice twice a week from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. I know it’s too late, but I have no choice because other teams are using the field. Furthermore, I promised my sweet Jessica that I’d start jogging around La Condesa after work every day. As you correctly observed before, my legs are not strong enough right now, but in a month, you won’t recognize me, for I’ll be as strong as Clark Kent, ha-ha-ha….”
Believe in Yourself
This is the most important thing for you to be ready to walk on your private destiny and start doing what you have always dreamt of: Believe in yourself ultimately. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will believe in you, too. You ought to be the most ardent fan of yourself and a cheerleader for your mission in this life. You have to believe in yourself, for you are about to walk on the most difficult road to make your dream come true. If you don’t believe what you are doing, you are tantamount to wasting your precious time on this delightful earth.
Here is the description of how I decided to leave everything behind and walk on my private destiny relentlessly in Mexican Rhapsody: Having a Second Chance:
The following week, I went to see the Dean of English. Tim has known me since I was his student a year ago. He welcomed me with a cordial smile and proffered me a chair to sit down.
I said with anticipation, “The principal suggested that I have a conference with you.”
“Yes, I’ve been expecting you. The principal asked me to talk with your professor as well. Shogo, I remember when you were my student, you were a very quiet and peaceful person. I was quite surprised to hear about your outburst. Shogo, tell me why you think her teaching is wrong, and also tell me what you exactly said to her?”
I told him everything down to the last details, including how she suddenly stood up and shrieked in an unrecognizable voice.
He listened to me attentively, and his eyes sometimes glinted discordant behind his thick glasses. He lapsed into silence for several minutes, appearing with a complex expression on his forehead. And he uttered with a solemn look, “Shogo, may I venture to ask you if you are an artist?”
I was astonished by the straightforward question but tried to compose myself with all my might and replied gravely, “Yes, I am.”
He fell to pondering for a while and stated, “I think there is a conflict between an academician and an artist. Academicians and artists have eternal differences and stand on diametrically opposite sides; they are not meant to come together, not any more than the sun and moon were meant to be together, or ocean and mountain. They are sun and moon, Shogo; they are ocean and mountain. They are not supposed to understand each other. By the way, Shogo, who are your favorite writers? Could you allow me to know some of them so that I can understand you better?”
“I admire Knut Hamsun, Henry Miller, Hermann Hesse, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Strindberg, etc.”
“Hm… it looks like you’re naturally attracted to literary giants. That’s very interesting, though. I remember that I read Crime and Punishment a long time ago. I vividly remember the part in which Raskolnikov bent all the way down, leaned towards the floor, kissed Sonya’s foot, and said: ‘I was not bowing to you; I was bowing to all human suffering.’ In addition to this scene, I love the passage in which he asks her to read the part about Lazarus in the Bible. It left a tremendous impact on me – I was speechless, so to speak,” he wiped the glasses with a kerchief and went on, “Anyway, sorry for the digression. The main thing is that I read your essay with much curiosity. I have to admit that it’s very well written, although I think your opinions are a bit idiosyncratic. Shogo, did you write it yourself? Or did somebody help you?”
His skeptical question offended me to the highest degree, but I’ve grown accustomed to being asked such mocking queries in the past. Every professor asked me the same sassy question once a semester. Ergo, I replied nonchalantly, “I wrote it myself. Nobody touched it. It is immaculate. Thank you very much for the derisive question.”
His lips started twitching involuntarily, and a bitter glint appeared in his eyes. He glared at me for a while. And then he began explaining, “I talked to your professor about your essay. She told me that your essay is fascinating. She took considerable time to read it thoroughly. She thinks your creativity is too high. Your unusually high creativity caused you to stray from the topic. And I agree with her point. Your essay is quite off-topic because of your uncommonly high imagination.”
I nodded apprehensively to myself and replied firmly, “Thank you for your observation. I very much appreciate it. But I totally disagree with your opinion. I think that creativity and imagination are imperative tools for one to write. On top of it all, imagination is everything. I think everything is crystal clear to me now. Thanks for teaching me what I don’t need to learn.”
With that, I stood up, bowed, and walked toward the threshold.
“Shogo, please wait. Allow me to ask you one last question. What do you want to do in your life?”
“Just enjoy my life.”
“What? You just want to enjoy your life?” he was flabbergasted.
I looked at his eyes squarely and nodded solemnly. And then, I stepped out of the English department with unwavering determination….
THANK YOU FOR READING! ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, NO MATTER WHAT, AND YOU WILL BE JUST FINE!
