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- Jan 23, 2012
- 72
- 31
I have a problem, which I've had all my life: I often change goals. I don't really know what I want to do. I find it difficult to really "burn" for something.
Today I had a very interesting discussion with a friend. I told him that there are so many alternatives to choose from in life, that I find it difficult to choose one and then stick to it.
Many years ago, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But then I got an opportunity to work in a good job with a good salary, and suddenly I lost the lust to be an entrepreneur. This has happened to me again and again. If I have to choose between two alternative courses in life, I find it excruciating to choose one. As soon as I believe that I've made up my mind, then I start thinking about what I loose by not choosing the other option.
While talking to my friend, we realized something very interesting, that might be causing this indecision and inability to "go for it". My friend asked me: "What do you really want to be doing, in 10 years?". I said I want to have earned at least $3,000,000 because then I can live off the return without working ever again.
My friend quickly made me realize that this might be the cause of my problems. He said, for him, he focuses not on the outcome or the money, because those things are too general. There are a million ways to earn a certain amount of money, and thinking about that end goal doesn't really help you in making a good choice. When he thinks about his future, he instead thinks of specific things that he want to have done. For example, he is currently developing a software that does something related to his field (AI), and his priority is to take that project to goal, not the result (money) that will come from it.
So basically, instead of thinking "I want to earn X amount of money - is choice A or choice B going to lead me there?", it is better to pick a specific idea that you want to realize, and think: "How can I organize my life (realistically) to best achieve this idea?"
I feel that this realization has been a strong shift in my thinking. I have several ideas in my head, and I should simply pick one that I believe in, and organize my life around realizing it. If it fails, it fails and then I can pick another idea that I am excited in. But focusing on (and getting excited about) specific projects seems like a more productive way to spend your energy, than to focus on a generic goal like "I want to earn X amount of money" which doesn't naturally lead to any specific action.
Today I had a very interesting discussion with a friend. I told him that there are so many alternatives to choose from in life, that I find it difficult to choose one and then stick to it.
Many years ago, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But then I got an opportunity to work in a good job with a good salary, and suddenly I lost the lust to be an entrepreneur. This has happened to me again and again. If I have to choose between two alternative courses in life, I find it excruciating to choose one. As soon as I believe that I've made up my mind, then I start thinking about what I loose by not choosing the other option.
While talking to my friend, we realized something very interesting, that might be causing this indecision and inability to "go for it". My friend asked me: "What do you really want to be doing, in 10 years?". I said I want to have earned at least $3,000,000 because then I can live off the return without working ever again.
My friend quickly made me realize that this might be the cause of my problems. He said, for him, he focuses not on the outcome or the money, because those things are too general. There are a million ways to earn a certain amount of money, and thinking about that end goal doesn't really help you in making a good choice. When he thinks about his future, he instead thinks of specific things that he want to have done. For example, he is currently developing a software that does something related to his field (AI), and his priority is to take that project to goal, not the result (money) that will come from it.
So basically, instead of thinking "I want to earn X amount of money - is choice A or choice B going to lead me there?", it is better to pick a specific idea that you want to realize, and think: "How can I organize my life (realistically) to best achieve this idea?"
I feel that this realization has been a strong shift in my thinking. I have several ideas in my head, and I should simply pick one that I believe in, and organize my life around realizing it. If it fails, it fails and then I can pick another idea that I am excited in. But focusing on (and getting excited about) specific projects seems like a more productive way to spend your energy, than to focus on a generic goal like "I want to earn X amount of money" which doesn't naturally lead to any specific action.
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