Life choices seem to be at a crescendo at specific times in our lives, especially when we are very young. Which university to attend? Who to marry? Where to live? It is important to note that the amount of privilege we have does impact on these choices.

Often, the decisions we make, or are made for us, at age eighteen or twenty two, determine everything else later in life. For years, students who I taught told me repeatedly how stressed out they were because they felt the need to choose the exact right career path right out of high school. They did not want to give themselves – or couldn’t for various reasons, including financial – room to make a mistake.

Isn’t it strange to think that we had to make such impactful decisions at such a young age that we’re expected to live with forever?

Significant life choices do continue into adulthood, albeit without the fanfare we experience in our earlier lives. Regardless, they are always there. Whether obvious – like the dinner that needs to be made every night, or under the surface – like the whisper in your ear that tells you to pick up that hobby you love but don’t practice, decisions are always circling, demanding our attention until we face them.

Life is All About Choices

If you don’t like where you are right now in your life, the good thing is that change is constantly in motion. And if you do like where you are in life, yay! You might still also want to continue to improve yourself and your life.

For good changes to happen, you need to be an active participant with you life choices, whatever way you can.

In the spirit of this, now that it’s the start of 2024, it’s a perfect time to ask yourself what you want to do with your life from now on.

This is a great question to ponder for everyone. And only you can answer it for yourself.

Often, we are so busy in our everyday lives that we don’t take time for the quiet. The stillness that is so necessary in checking in with yourself, is one of the first things to drop when we get busy.

Experiment and sit with the question, “What do I want to do with my life?” Let this question linger long enough, and the answer will present itself – maybe not right away or in a direct way, but it will come to you. And, the answer might surprise you.

So, go ahead and ask yourself what you really want. If you didn’t think there were any obstacles, what would you plan for yourself for the next year? The next three years?

Believe it before you can see it

You can tell your story before you begin to take actionable steps towards change. You can spend time thinking and planning for what you want to do with your life. You can even start to do this through writing morning pages or evening pages.

I have found that it’s helpful to have some core ideas and plans. If you’re a planner, then it’s easy to get caught up planning every single detail, but that’s not everyone’s style, and it can be discouraging: what if you can’t imagine every single detail? Does this mean that you can’t continue with your vision for yourself? I don’t think so, but I also think that you can leave some room for surprise, for magic, if you will, in your planning.

If you’re style is more visual, you might want to do a vision board or mood board. These help you get the feeling of the life you want, which of course, starts with making decisions.

These life choices can include letting some things, ideas, or people go, but can also include new goals, new habits, and new priorities. Even something like improving your breakfast intake or your daily movement can have long-term rewards that will ripple through other parts of your life.

Even small steps can lead to large leaps.

How do you envision yourself at the end of 2024?

What one life choice can you make today, big or small, to make that vision a reality?

Everyone’s vision is as unique as the individuals themselves. Wishing you every happiness in realizing your vision.

Drop a comment below and let us know what changes you’re excited about making.

-Isabel

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