Ahh...the good old days. When I reminesce about college, I don't think about partying (though I did enough of that) or bars (despite frequenting them often), I think about the fact that in many, albeit odd, ways, life was easier. So, I was broke, and my furniture and home weren't all that nice, and I did often have to work and go to school in order to get through, but that wasn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. For the Type A, achievement oriented, control freak of a girl that I am, there was a well lit path of "right" things to do which made life SO much easier.
You remember in kindergarten when you got a gold star for being good? See, I like gold stars. Kindergarten was my jam. I like "achieving" things and having an obvious way of knowing I've achieved it. In college, there was firstly your report card. The report card was a very obvious indicator of achieving something. This led to honor societies. Grades plus volunteerism and social sororities etc led to Motor Board which was generally a sign that you did good stuff for the College. So, while I didn't get into every single thing I may have wanted to, the path was there and was obvious and it felt good.
Then there were internships to apply for, scholarships to try to win, GRE's to take, grad schools to apply for - the list goes on. It was just pretty obvious what you were "supposed" to do to get ahead. Maybe it makes me a total nerd, but I really enjoyed having a fairly clear path of things I "needed" to do.
Out in the real world, things get a little blurry. Now, there are some professions that still lend themselves to this path - for instance, the military, certain consulting/law/accounting firms, and academia. They aren't exact paths but you generally know what you have to do to get to the next level and there is a clear next level that you can strive towards. I'm sure there is a downside to those professions too, but I am jealous that they all have a path that gives you some feedback on whether or not you're a rockstar.
Currently, I have no path, other than maybe personal fulfillment? While I chose this semi-retired life and am happy I did, the lack of a path is still hard to deal with at times. Which clients should I go after? How do I achieve more? How do I even set goals?
I used to set goals like you would a check list. Go to this city. Check. Save this amount of money. Check. Buy this item in cash. Check. Blah blah blah. None of that feels like anything important. I mean, they are things I want to do, but I would do it whether I made it a goal or not. It certainly doesn't feel like I'm achieving anything ...more like I'm just passing time. I guess because the only competition with these so called goals is with myself? That's not all that special.
So what kind of goals should I be setting then? And what do you do when you try to set goals that contradict with each other? I.E. travel vs saving money vs not being OCD and just enjoying myself? It really can be a hard thing to balance all that stuff. So then, all the goals just feel dumb, and I'd hate to think I'm just passing my time. I'd like to be doing meaningful, achievement oriented things that maybe could help me be less crazy and help others in the process? If anybody has any suggestions on how to accomplish such a thing, I'd love to buy you a coffee (or hell a steak dinner) and have you teach me your magic powers.
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