I feel like I'm doing nothing with my life...

[Tom]

Right, I'm in the final six or so months of my school education before I decide what I want to do with my life. I'm heading for okay grades. Nothing special, I mean maybe a B in Business and English, C in Maths and Science, hopefully I'll pass Geography and with a lot of luck, Spanish. So yeah, not great at all. Then comes my attitude towards everything, I don't approach everything with a positive frame of mind and I'm very pessimistic in my ways. Which of course isn't good. So what can I do to change this? If that doesn't sound like a stupid question. I mean it's almost like I have two frames of mind, one that wants me to achieve well but never quite gets there and one that thinks that nothing good can come from anything.

 

[AOS-]

Research into what you want to do for a living, whether or not you'll want that kind of lifestyle, etc. If you do, then look into what skills you should have to be successful in that field, and assuming you're going into post-secondary, look at what programs are available that are relevant to it.

 

[CTznOfTime]

go out and smell the flowers... Life is beautiful dude !! Stop depending so much on technology... Enjoy nature... There are so much to be seen and do out there...

So many people in misery... who needs help... sounds like you are a well rounded individual (not physically) but at least you got your acts together...

why don't you go out and lend a hand to needy people, help them out

what do you like to do in life? pursuit it... and do good deeds... be the good samaritan...

help old ladies, help less fortunate people... make people's life better.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Firstly, you're still young. That's a lot of time to figure out what you want to do or be. Don't get caught up in what everybody else is doing, or what the norm is - do what's right for you and, if possible, follow your interests.

Friends of mine who are in their thirties and early fourties are only just discovering what they really want to do in life, so there's really no great rush.

The trouble with going from school to college to university in such a short span of your life is that you still won't really know what you want, you have little life experience. Many young people put their eggs all in one basket at this point by taking a very specific subject which leaves them stuck when they struggle to find a job in that particular field. If you must take a subject with no real idea of what you want to do, take something general but valuable, maths or a science, for example.

I mean it's almost like I have two frames of mind, one that wants me to achieve well but never quite gets there and one that thinks that nothing good can come from anything.

This is quite common among people in their late teens to early-to-late twenties. It comes from having lots of choice and minds capable of questioning and analysing anything and everything during a period of almost constant change as you pass from school, to college, maybe to university, and finally into the working world. At times like this I find it is best to occupy your mind by being around friends, or by losing yourself in a hobby that you enjoy.

 

[cgr-10]

You're an awesome guitarist and you've got one foot in the door when it comes to radio broadcasting/journalism, so pursue your interests mate. I don't know if that's something you'd plan on doing in the future but after listening to your shows and your songs, you're pretty talented in both respects.

Get as qualified as you can for the job sector that interests you the most and take it from there.

 

[Furinkazen]

Focus on your interests, and keep positive! Biggest darn barrier to success is saying "I can't do this".

 

[nealcropper]

Dude, make a decision and go with it. Shoot for the stars, but also have a back up. Pursue that dream job that you have always wanted to do, it can be anything! But at the same time plan for the worst, always have a back up plan, a more down to earth plan that, should for some reason plan A falls down, then you will always have a back up.

Because if you don't you will end up working in a job you cannot stand (like me). You will be 30 still wondering were your life has gone to, wondering what would have happened if you would have gone to collage or even uni, which I could have done.

The biggest peice of advice I can give is do everything you can to further yourself as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Learn to drive early, pass all the exams you can, even if you think it has no bearing on your future, because it will do eventually. Believe me, there is nothing worse than having regrets.

Also a little anecdote my dad used to always say to me before he died, always be nice to everyone on the way up, because you never know who you might need on the way back down.

 

[Skython]

Research into what you want to do for a living, whether or not you'll want that kind of lifestyle, etc. If you do, then look into what skills you should have to be successful in that field, and assuming you're going into post-secondary, look at what programs are available that are relevant to it.

This. Select a few things that you enjoy doing, no matter what it is, be it reading, calculating, music, being dramatic, annoying people, or even eating! And then link it to jobs that could fit some of those, if you end up with music, try and get backup options, because music isn't a very stable business until you really get somewhere, which is quite difficult.

For example, I am interested in music, creative writing, reviewing things, cars. Because you're here at GTP, then cars must be somewhere in your interests, meaning you could get some sort of engineering job. You could go for music, whether you're in a band or not it doesn't matter too much. Music isn't just music as in a band, it can also be writing and playing music for commercials, or TV shows. So you do have options, you just have to get creative. There are many jobs that need filling, not many people give thought into their existence but someone needs to do them. (like being a garbage man, but let's not think about that)

However, I wouldn't throw 100% trust in my words, because I'm not the brightest tool in the shed. I had to look up the definition of pessimistic.

 

[Stevisiov]

Right, I'm in the final six or so months of my school education before I decide what I want to do with my life. I'm heading for okay grades. Nothing special, I mean maybe a B in Business and English, C in Maths and Science, hopefully I'll pass Geography and with a lot of luck, Spanish. So yeah, not great at all. Then comes my attitude towards everything, I don't approach everything with a positive frame of mind and I'm very pessimistic in my ways. Which of course isn't good. So what can I do to change this? If that doesn't sound like a stupid question. I mean it's almost like I have two frames of mind, one that wants me to achieve well but never quite gets there and one that thinks that nothing good can come from anything.

People often say "have a good think about what you want to do", which is great but sometimes you just can't think of what you want to do, nothing quite fits.

Instead, it might be an idea to start thinking of what you don't want to do. There's quite a list of things you don't want to do, but you will quite quickly find a pattern of things you don't like. You naturally start thinking of taking steps to avoid ending up doing things you don't want to do. That is a step in the right direction.