Have you ever felt lost for your future?

No matter where you are in life, everyone feels a bit lost sometimes. Even those who are successful doctors sometimes think back to what they could have been otherwise, or wonder where they will go in the future.

I do admit, being in the last year of your program and not knowing what fits you is slightly (but only so) unusual. Hopefully you would want (or at least tolerate) doing a job related to your field of study. Then again, with the economy the way it is, maybe it’s worth your time to take a year, find a job that feeds and shelters you, and do some introspective thinking about what you desire to do in life.

From personal experience, I felt very much the same way for a few months after I graduated university. It was the first real time in my life where I had my life’s reigns in my hands and I was free to steer my life in any direction, and I had no idea what I wanted. To tell you the truth, even now (a year after graduation) I still don’t know what I really want, but at least I’m taking steps towards trying things and finding out through experimentation what I like and what I would want to do for the rest of my life.

One thing’s for sure, worrying about your future is a bit pointless, as the future will come regardless of your opinion of it. Thus I feel it is much better to take a step, any step, even if you don’t know if it’ll be the right step, at least you can learn from it after it’s all said and done. Taking no steps though, that’s just silly, eventually you’ll have to take a step so why waste the time I figure.

I’m in pretty much the same boat. :/ (Though I’ll have one more year to go after this one.)

But have courage. Don’t be intimidated. If you made it this far, surely finding your way around the job market can’t be too hard. It’s just the next step.

Furthermore, I for one wouldn’t insist on not settling for anything less than the perfect job on the first try. I’d just have a look around and see what job I think I could do. And then decide whether I want to stick with what I find or not.

I wonder if I’m not being terribly naive about this.

Sometimes the path we set out for, turns out to be a totally different direction.
As the saying goes, live for today, and be open minded. All roads lead to the same place. What that place is? Now that is what makes life so interesting.
I know Doctors that have become lawyers. Lawyers that own/run business that have nothing to do with law. Look at the skills and education you are acquiring and be broader in how to apply it. You will find your options will become greater, and your limits will lessen. Maybe it is not an issue of what you want to be, but, see it as how you want to live.

Yep! I’m also going into my final year of undergrad, and I have no clue what I’ll be doing. There are many many things I’d enjoy doing, so choosing seems tough.

I’m taking it month by month, as opportunities are cropping up too often for me to plan for them. But I have dreams that I’m working toward bit by bit. I know something will pan out.

Don’t give up hope! Trust your instincts. Read. Good luck!

I think everyone has been there at some point. Have you talked to any of your instructors of professors about this? They may be more help than you think. They get a lot of students asking them that question.

I’ve always been jealous of those people who always knew what they wanted to do. Like you, I don’t know what I should do with my life.

Shoot, I’m 41 years old and still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up! I hope you find your passion and can make a living at it. Good luck. : )

i have no idea what i want to do either. no, i take that back. i have 5000 things i want to do, just can’t choose one. or even two. i think that just means that we have some special quality, a one up on most of those that can choose (while they’re young-ish). my best friend is goin to be a physical therapist. when she told me that, i was like, “what? what kind of skill does that even require?” i think we just don’t ‘decide to be physical therapists right away’ because we have a little more to offer.
no offense to all the physical therapists here

We have the special quality to think about something for years without reaching a conclusion, yes. Beyond that, I’m pretty sure my own inability to decide does not stem from a belief that I have ever so much to offer that most jobs wouldn’t do justice to. I’d rather blame it on always having been so obsessed with versatility that I ended up being average at many things and extraordinarily good at next to nothing.

And at the risk of being a dick, I’d like to point to the difference between having exceptionally much to offer and believing you have exceptionally much to offer. You come across as a bit presumptuous about your skills.

Really thanks to all comments here, I felt lots better. At least I know that I am not only one person who felt lost about the future. I really love this words “live for today, and be open minded. All roads lead to the same place” It helps me a lot.

I just sometimes scare that maybe I have missed something or some opportunities or I might choose the wrong directions which I know these kinds of feelings are ridiculous, I will never know the answer in advanced anyway. So what I have to do is to beleive in myself and move on, well it seems like it’s the only choice here. lol

Many thanks!!