Question: What should I do with my life? Answer: Whatever makes you happiest.
For everyone who asks “What should I do with my life?” there is someone who responds by asking “What would you do if you had a million dollars?”
The question is supposed to identify what you would do if money was no object. Ideally, your answer is then used to help you determine what to do with your life. For instance, if you want to rebuild car engines all day, then you should be an auto mechanic. If you want to tend to your garden all day, then you should be a gardener. The desire to play piano all day means you should be a musician — and so on.
Although this “millionaire method” may help some people determine their life’s calling, it’s hardly perfect. The question often leads to answers that can’t be translated into a corresponding profession. “Pay off debt,” “Invest,” and “Travel” are all things that someone could do with a million dollars, but these replies provide little insight as to what they should do with their life.
Among these unhelpful replies was the one I always used: “I don’t know.”
I don’t know what I’d do if I had a million dollars. Furthermore, I don’t know why I don’t know. Maybe I complicate the question somehow — wondering when, or how it could happen. Maybe I get distracted by how preposterous the idea is that my mind never registers the actual question. Or maybe I’m unimaginative, and choose to say “I don’t know” for lack of a better answer.
Whichever the case, it’s clear that the millionaire method couldn’t help me. In time, I understood that was expected, because life isn’t that simple.
Everyone is unique. I’m unique. You’re unique. Consequently, it’s downright impossible to define a single, simple, and universally effective question that will identify everyone’s purpose in life. That’s why the millionaire method doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s for this same reason that so many other strategies for discovering your life’s purpose exist:
Steve Jobs suggests living each day as if it were your last.
Brian Kim suggests embracing your strengths.
Steve Pavlina suggests tweaking your life purpose until it makes you cry.
The thing is, when you’re searching for your life’s calling, you can’t rely on anyone else to tell you precisely what you’re searching for. They may offer advice to help advance your search, but it’s up to you to complete it.
I say this because no one else has experienced your unique experiences or ever will. The feelings you have are unique to you alone, and as such, no one else can possibly know what makes you happiest — only you do.
Therefore, the best advice I can offer you is to do whatever makes you happiest. You’re certain to know what it is once you’ve found it, because you’ll instinctively know that you’ll never be as happy doing anything else.
20 Responses to “Question: What should I do with my life? Answer: Whatever makes you happiest.”
Before you decide what you should do with your life, I would suggest to get informed. When you realize it’s not all about money and fame, your goals also change. Remember, you’re not your day job. You can still be a free artist, musician in your free time. Reward yourself with things you create, and not with things you buy.
What follows is not an answer, but here are some good thoughts about the question:
Don’t ask the millionaire question. Ask one that is just about the opposite. What would do for free every single day a year? I would fly as an unpaid job if given the option (and I could eat and maintain my family). I’d also play piano, and I’d lecture on self improvement. These are things that give me immense joy for free.
Patrick
http://stopdoingnothing.com
Shaun> How do you do it? The last couple of days, I started to ask myself: What should I do with my life?
And now you put up this article.
Once again you inspire me to move on with my life. Just last night, one of my friends again asked me (again!) to switch job over to where he works. And even with the higher pay and more interesting work, I haven’t been able to convince myself to switch job. I have been to lazy!
Reading this - and other of you writings - have made me to seriously think about accept his jobproposal.
Keep it up!
The millionaire question works for some people because they are motivated by money. If you are motivated by power it is the Bruce Almighty question: ‘What would you do if you can do anything?’
If you are motivated by prestige or reputation it’s the book question: ‘What is the title of your autobiography?’
If you are motivated by significance it’s the ‘What’s on your tombstone’ question.
None of these questions answers your question though because as Shaun says, we’re all unique.
What makes you happy, what do you get lost in, what would you do for free?
These are more questions - all tools. Here’s wjat I think. You do something today and if it does not feel right you do it different tomorrow. You do that every day until you get it right. And then you keep on adjusting that rightness to stay on course.
The big problem is with the question: “What should I do with my life?” You can’t answer it, you can only live it.
I agree with what you suggested - you should go after whatever makes you happiest. But since a large number of people have no earthly clue what makes them the happiest, first they have to figure out what that is. Then they can go about making a life-long career out of it.
Good advice, I think.
What we should be doing is what our passion is, and here are my tips for finding out what your passion. http://derrickkwa.blogspot.com.....sion.html.
Just thought I’d add my thoughts.
For most people, this is too big a question. Most people have enough trouble seeing to the end of the day, let along with the rest of their life.
For a good read, check out ‘The Art of Happiness’ by the Dali Lama. Sat down and read it the other day.
Essentially (and I’m no Buddhist) it is about doing things that make you happy!
Shaun,
You write “I say this because no one else has experienced your unique experiences or ever will.”
I disagree. I’m kind of a big deal in the karaoke world, but I would argue that many of the ’smaller fish’ have experienced the EXACT SAME heartbreak and elation that I have. From the boos on a bad night, to the approval of a drunken crowd on a good night… I would argue, it’s the same stuff over and over again. Never any better, never any worse. Maybe I’m just stuck in a moment and I can’t get out of it.
Love,
Your Uncle Bobby
http://www.bobbykaraoke.com/
What if you just don’t fit in anywhere?What if you are a born drifter? the millionaire question doesn’t work because a million quid would not give me the answer of what I am supposed to be, neither would the title of my autobiography etc, I’m not particuarly unique and have no idea what I am supposed to be doing. I’m an unemployed 25 year old woman with no direction, living with her parents in a poor seaside town on the south of England. I’m fucked.
Hi Charley
Your self-description sounds just like mine. Do you want to get hitched?
I found this just by Googling the words “What should I do”. Interesting that with over 50,000,000 results, it was at the very top. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one, but at the same time I wish everyone knew what to do. When you’re 27 and have a family to support, you’ll do anything to make it. I wish when I was younger, I really went for what I loved to do because now that I want to makea change from I.T and back to the arts, it’s very hard. As a kid, I was passionate about I.T. For some reason, I just loved fixing problems. It’s a little different now, because it’s not rewarding and there’s not a whole lot of growth opportunities. Anyway, best of luck to you all
Beer, my boyfriend’s company, dive bars, strong drinks, live music, kareoke, when the Cubs, Bears and Bulls win, The Lantern’s spicy chicken wings, days off, Fridays, my cat Silver, the Doors, seeing my friends all together again, a clean room, a made up bed, clean linens, really, anything clean makes me very happy. I seem to be a bit OCD which is perfect for my love for design. I once said I want to live my life in color… I want to wake up at 9 and be at work by 10, maybe earlier… I may just find an empty bottle of wine out in the yard from the night before. …I will NOT be afraid to live because I think my job may not be there the next day. Anyway, I’m thinking every which way… I love many things. I know what I want to do, I am just choosing to take my time. I don’t think it’s the best idea to wait but money’s tight and I wanna go to school for design. People say you don’t need to but I think it just might look better on paper, plus, I love school and would love the professional guidance. So, to answer the question ‘What would you do if you had a million dollars’? I would in fact pay off my debt, my family’s too, buy a place and pay for school and open my own design center so I can change peoples lives! And, yes, I’d do it for free, that’s just how much I love it…
What should you do with your life? Simply “do”. Everything that you do simply “do” and the answer will come. Whatever you are doing whether talking with someone, reading, playing hop-scotch with your friends, being pushed around the streets in an office chair by your friends - simply “do”. Even if you are at work, doing something which is considered tedious if you simply and fully “do” - the answer will come of its own accord. Do not force the answer. In doing there will be great strength.
As a matter of fact that is exactly what I will do now. I have exams to read for, but do so with great trepidation, unknowing as to what life’s course will set out for me. But whatever I do I will make an effort to instill it with strength, and not be mindful of the results, but simply “do” and the rewards will appear as will value in whatever we “do”
Best of luck……
What about reality. I cant do what i want to do without spending 1/4 my life in college!
i do believe that i should do what ever makes me happy, and i do have even if it was a slight idea of what does makes me happy. i also want to succeed in what do, but the thing is that im so afraid of failing, i have tried a couple of things before and put my heart into it, but i failed. i know that if im doing the thing that makes me happy it wouldnt matter, but i guess my problem is that succeeding in what im doing is part of what makes me happy.
I am a 29 year old with no idea what to do! I have worked in management in London, worked as a fruitpicker and on yatchs all over the world and am about to return to uni to do a masters in a course I’m not sure is right for me! All I want to do is be a writer and have been trying to get published for almost a year … and know that being a writer is a shit way to make a living. I also want to be rich!
Any advice?
Yeah, the problem is, most of that stuff I would like to do for free, really does have to be for free, because there is no way I could make a living doing it. I would love to sit around all day and learn how to play piano and cook brownies and make stained glass. Meanwhile, I will get evicted. Its so hard to find that balance of practical and enjoyable. I also dont want to work at a job that requires so many hours that I cant see my friends and family members. And I cant afford to go to college even I knew what I wanted to learn. Fuck, I hate being in limbo. Thats it, Im going to a palm reader or something……..
Trick question. The tribe and the Universe will give two contrary answers. Money and love are different answers. The tribe says do what pays the best. The Universe says do what you love. We humans are the middle path in between the tribe and Universe that both battle for our time and life. Balance requires we do what pays the best AND what we love as a balancing act. As life changes we continue to fine tune things. Make money. Be happy. Jack Goldman, St. Paul, MN
Good question! I am looking for an answer long enought to be tired. How is it possible that so many people just know and others dont have an idea? “Two roads diverged into wood and I, I took the one less traveled by …”, but where I am going? Do what will make you happy?! What if I dont know what makes me happy? I like to do lots of things but I did not discover passion yet. I feel empty. I am 31, very well educated, but not successful. Do I wasting my time, what should I do? I can not come up with the answer…
I have asked this question all my life and still have no answer. I am 43. I sometimes wish I was 27 or 29 or 31 or however old/young some of you are. I still have NO idea. And now my ex-the love of my life is dying-and he could just take life by storm, I never met anyone with such a gift for living. He lived in the present and yet made long term goals, and reached them, some of them-there were so many plans-only a fraction destined to happen. I guess he wasnt afraid to dream or afraid to push his limits. And still, even now, do I know the answer?NO. I guess it is just an intensely personal thing. And maybe we think too much and ask that question too much. Sometimes I find when I stop asking, I start living, a little.