I think you can't really consciously decide what you want to do with your life. Life happens to you:
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." - Steve Jobs
You can however increase the odds of things coming on your path that you'll be passionate about:
- Pursue a wide range of interests, jobs in different industries
- Fearlessly trying lots of different stuff, for ex. go skydiving, go rock climbing, go travel if you can, go from the beaten path of life
- Socialize and stay open and curious to different people, so you hear different viewpoints and get different interests
Hear hear. Life happens to you. All you can do is try to make sure you enjoy the ride. When you are younger you think you can have it all, but that isn't the case. So many things can disrupt your path, the list is endless. Best advice is to follow your instincts, not your rationale. Life isn't a choice. It's some sort of roadtrip. You don't know how or where it will end and what will happen along the way. You may decide what to do and what to pursue but you can never steer your emotions. Just try to enjoy the ride.
This is not the mindset that people who achieve anything have. It's a defeatist attitude. Many people have, to use the saying, had it all, and many have fought past roadblocks to get there. People who let life wash over them never get anywhere.
Yup. Pick the battles that matter to you and that you have a choice of winning.
There will always be forces beyond your control that affect your life - be they natural disasters, other people's decisions (from personal choices like whether to date you and small-scale professional like whether to hire you; to which departments to cut in a major layoff; to enormous political/social upheavals), market forces and scientific breakthroughs that you can't predict, etc. If you don't roll with the punches on those, all you'll accomplish is to make yourself angry all the time.
But there are also choices you can make - such as how to spend/invest your money; what jobs to apply to; whether to start a business, and which one; whom to try to date or ask to marry you; where to buy or rent a home, etc. that will have massive, compounding effects on your stress levels and happiness.
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." - Steve Jobs
You can however increase the odds of things coming on your path that you'll be passionate about:
- Pursue a wide range of interests, jobs in different industries
- Fearlessly trying lots of different stuff, for ex. go skydiving, go rock climbing, go travel if you can, go from the beaten path of life
- Socialize and stay open and curious to different people, so you hear different viewpoints and get different interests