Post date: Apr 5, 2015 8:09:35 PM
(Source from Quora: http://qr.ae/3UpdF)
"Go to school, study hard, get a job, get married, buy a house, go do this, go do that, don't do this, don't do that.."
There is a moment that can occur in a person's life where they realize that their vehicle had been on autopilot for their entire lives.
One day, you wake up and realize that no one knows what they are talking about. You've been blindly guided down a path by the advice of some people, who got that advice from some other people, and so on, and so on. But it's a house of cards. Just like a fiat currency, it's backed by absolutely nothing.
So, you begin to question things. You realize how life was a series of reactions to outside circumstances, a simple set of transitions from one phase to the next, based upon what everyone else thought was best for you.
It started when your family dressed you for the first time, chose your name, geographic region, religious beliefs, political affiliations, career options, marriage options, and so forth. Your social circles were determined by the schools that were chosen for you, the people who lived within a close vicinity, your family's values and financial standing -- and many other societal inputs shaped your values and self-image. And so really, most of your choices weren't truly independent choices at all. For your entire life, you'd been playing a game with a deck that was missing most of the cards.
It's a very humbling experience to realize you've spent your entire life living out someone else's ideas of what you should be doing.
In reality, no one has any clue what we're doing on this flying rock.
You're the captain of your own ship. There's no textbook that has the answers in the back anymore. Mommy and daddy don't have the answers. Neither do your friends, or your teachers, or the people on television.
Should you be working at the job you're working at? Should you be with the person you're with? Should you be living in the city you're living in? Is the political system you're a part of even doing a good job of serving the greater good for all of its citizens?
Nobody knows. Only you can figure it out.
This moment hits some people in their 40s, and it's called a "mid-life crisis." It hits some people in their 20s, and it's called a "quarter-life crisis." For some people, they live into old age and it never hits them. With the internet, it makes it easier for people to understand these things, and evolve at a younger age. I had mine at age 22. But if it does hit you, it's a moment that will change everything.
For some, it represents a time to shed old beliefs and habits, and create a completely different way of life that's more aligned with what feels most natural and joyful for the individual (note: this can be unbelievably scary, yet also one of the most exciting and fulfilling adventures of a lifetime). For others, it can turn into a pity party; just blaming others and feeling regret for not having made decisions sooner, and being too afraid to make the changes necessary to break free.
I suggest the first route.
But hey, don't forget -- I don't know anything either. So don't listen to anything I say.