There is no handbook to instruct us how to make big life decisions. No one outside ourselves is wise enough to provide us with advice on how to make life changing decisions.
We can spend a lot of energy searching and seeking a map or a guide.
But when we finally choose to see the beauty in the mystery of life, we become aware and increasingly conscious that we are not machines and there is nothing mechanical about living.
Life is Messy
The age of control is coming to an end when we decide to care deeply about our individual and collective health and wellbeing. Most of the systems, including what we call healthcare, which is actually sick care, have manifested as machines. There is not a lot of care as we move through them.
As human beings, we are increasingly realizing that we don’t really need to be super productive or perfect. We don’t need to separate ourselves into work and life and pursue an unnatural balance when we become aware that there is only life and work is part of it.
Unlike a machine, we don’t have access to a lot of replacement parts when our body breaks down and why more of us are understanding the need to focus on our holistic health. And the deep connection between our physical and mental health.
So much is out of our control in a world where we are taught to be controlled. A world where we focus more on mechanics and structures than human dynamics like emotions. There is more care for a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its economic health than its people.
Making Life Decisions Involves Deep Questioning
It is wonderful when people believe in us or are proud of us but when we believe in ourselves, we focus on creating a meaningful path. When we allow ourselves to feel and observe the world around us and our own humanity, we can get in touch with our questions and our values.
Making life decisions means being with our questions. Here are two questions to play with and please add your own:
Imagine you are alone in the world and you are choosing the life you want to live. You are standing at a crossroads. There are several paths in front of you. You can choose whatever you want without judgement. You can experiment as there is no right or wrong decision for you. You get to choose what is healthy and unhealthy for you and no one else.
There are no problems, just opportunities, to experience in whatever path you choose. Now, take as much time as you need and observe which path gets you so excited that you feel an energy surge when you visualize it?
Now imagine you’re no longer alone on the planet; there are many people here with you. What choice would you now make—one that is deemed good by the people around you, or one that you feel is healthy for you? What does it look like when you imagine living to your fullest potential? Can you afford not to go down this path?