What to Do When You Aren't Sure What You Want
January 27, 2011 
When it comes to moving forward in life, sometimes productivity and actually getting things done isn't the real problem. Many times, we stall or stagnate because of a much larger question: What do I even want?
Life's big questions come around, and we find ourselves answering, "Definitely, maybe."
Should I take this job? Do I want to take this direction with my career? Should I keep my job or start a business? Should I move to that new city or stay where I am? Do I pursue this business idea or something else? Do I want to have [a/another] child? Is this what I want for my life?
Sometimes the answer to these kinds of questions isn't so obvious or even based on logic or reason, and to add even more confusion to our already overloaded hearts and minds, we can often see ourselves going more than one direction or having more than one response.
What do you do when you have no idea what you want? How do you figure out if you're choosing the right path, and how do you get over the feelings of anxiety around making the right decision? More importantly, how do you stop making decisions half-heartedly and start being "all in" instead of straddling the fence of life and never really living?
The short answer: find what motivates you, what lights you up, and what gets you excited about the possibilities for what your life could look like.
While reading The Life Organizer by Jennifer Louden, I came across a quote that sums it up nicely: "Trust and investigate your desires. Engage with them as a way to identify your gifts and contributions to the world."
Maybe we don't have to have all the answers right away. Maybe we don't need to worry so much about outcomes or what lies at the end of a given path, because really, what's the likelihood that the ending we have pictured in our minds will even happen exactly as we see it?
No matter what path we choose, there will be detours and new opportunities that come along with it, and there's just no telling where those choices might take us, and how exciting and unnerving is that?
(Makes you feel more alive, doesn't it?)
Further Reading (& Watching)
Here's some inspiration and recommended reading (and watching) to get you back on track and moving forward with strong momentum and purpose!
The Shift - DVD by Wayne Dyer (streaming video available here) is my favorite, go-to source of inspiration when I need to realign with my purpose. One of my favorite points in the movie, "You get to a place in your life where you start to be guided by something that's larger than yourself. Just stay aligned with what you're here for. Stay there, and as you stay there, the meaning phase of your life begins to take over."
The 4-Hour Workweek - Book by Timothy Ferriss is great for getting direction in both life and business. One of the best pieces of advice offered on the topic of finding happiness is this, "Most people will never know what they want. Happiness has become ambiguous through overuse. Excitement is a more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase."