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What's your purpose in life?
By Emily Ratay — Written on Oct 16, 2019
We all go through periods where we think to ourselves, “I have no clue what I want to do with my life.”
Even if you have some idea about what you want to do, you still have to figure out the details and make the right moves.
Or, you may think you know what you want to do with your life, only to wake up one morning and realize you want to do something totally different. Hey, it happens.
It can be very stress-inducing and confusing to not know what you want your future to look like.
If you do a quick Google search, you’ll realize that there are so many people, people ranging from 19 years old to 42 years old and probably beyond, who have no clue what they want to do with their lives.
There’s definitely no age limit to having your act together.
Of course, we also live in a world where you’re supposed to get a job right after school, even if it’s not at all what you really want to do. And if you don’t have any definite plans for your future?
It just means you have to stay in a routine you might not really want to be in. I don’t know about you, but just talking about this makes me feel stressed out. I thought I had my whole life figured out after I graduated.
I knew what my major was going to be, I knew where I wanted to live, and I already had an idea of my five– and ten-year plans. Six months before I graduated from college, I decided that everything I was working toward wasn’t actually what I wanted to do with my life.
Instead, I wanted to do something that I was passionate about, so I chose to start from square one again.
It can be scary to start over or take a risk for your future, especially if you’re going into it with only a vague idea of what you want to do, but even a little bit of work toward your goals every day can be satisfying.
If you ask me, life is too short to not at least try to do something you’re passionate about or be someone you’re proud of.
It’s not as easy as just saying you’re going to uproot and start from square one, but taking even baby steps to have the life you want to have is better than doing nothing at all.
Another thing we should all remember: it’s okay to not know your life purpose or what you want to do with your life.
There’s no deadline for when you should have your sh*t together – it takes time, and the timeline is different for each and every one of us.
It’s okay to only like your job, not love it. It’s okay to have passions that you enjoy doing but don’t necessarily want to pursue.
It’s okay to live your life for yourself and no one else.
The point is, you don’t have to have your entire life planned out; clarity will come with time.
Right now, just find ways to enjoy yourself a little bit every day, no matter what that means for you.
And keep reading to find out exactly why you don’t know what to do with your life, based on your astrology and zodiac sign.
ARIES (March 21 - April 19)
Aries, you don’t know what to do with your life because you feel like you’re not doing anything right now.
You can push so hard to get ahead and make a name for yourself that you’re not actually doing anything of value – and it’s catching up to you.
Sometimes, you just want to show people that you’re doing something that you forget that work without intention is just wasting your time.
Be afraid to actually do nothing if it means you’re giving yourself a break from all the pressure you put on yourself every day to succeed.
Maybe you just need a break, Aries.
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20)
Taurus, you don’t know what to do with your life because evolving as a person means getting out of your comfort zone, which is something you don’t really like to think about.
In fact, you may convince yourself that you’ve achieved all there is to achieve because the thought of doing something that makes you uncomfortable is too much to handle.
The more you resist change, the more you’re backing yourself into a corner where nothing will happen in your life.
Life is about constantly moving forward – and great things can come from getting out of your comfort zone, Taurus.
GEMINI (May 21 - June 20)
Gemini, you don’t know what to do with your life because you’re spreading yourself way too thin.
Rather than focusing on one task or project, you’re trying to multitask, which isn’t really working in your favor.
You may thrive best in situations where you’re able to multitask, but doing a lot of things at once doesn’t really do much for you in the long run.
You’re not really giving yourself a chance to focus on something important to you if you’re spreading yourself thin.
Consider removing all distractions from your life so you can really carve a path for your future.
CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
Cancer, you don’t know what to do with your life because you fear failure. What happens if you take a risk and it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped it would?
Moving forward and growing up means taking risks and getting uncomfortable, and you can’t have one without the other.
It’s okay to feel scared about the future, but as daunting as it may seem, it’s important to keep pushing forward.
You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do with your life just yet, but it does help to have a support system of friends and family to lift you up when you’re feeling lost or scared.
LEO (July 23 - August 22)
Leo, you don’t know what to do with your life because you feel like you’re in a slump.
As a determined, creative person, it’s hard to find inspiration in what you’re doing when you feel like you’re not getting the recognition you deserve from others, or even when you feel like your efforts are just stale and uninspired.
The only way to get out of the slump you’re in is to power through it.
Whether that means looking for a more creative way to get your job done or asking for advice from your support system, it’s up to you to shake off those cobwebs and remember what’s important to you.
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22)
Virgo, you don’t know what to do with your life because everything feels so up in the air right now.
Usually, you have a pretty good handle on the things going on in your life, and you know how to juggle all of the balls you’ve got in the air.
When you feel overwhelmed, it’s usually because you’re dealing with a little more chaos than usual.
As someone who craves perfection, the idea that every square inch of your future can’t be planned out can be stressful.
You like knowing exactly what’s going to happen, but of course, life doesn’t work that way.
Right now, you don’t really know what to do with your life because you’re realizing that the future is so uncertain.
All you can really do is focus on the most important things and hope for the best.
LIBRA (September 23 - October 22)
Libra, you don’t know what to do with your life because you live with the burden of indecision at every turn.
While it’s great that you can be so thoughtful with all of the choices you make, you still have to actually make choices to get somewhere in life.
For you, the fear of making the wrong choice for your future can stop you from making any choice at all.
The future can be daunting, but you need to learn how to trust your decisions and learn from your mistakes – it’s the only way to truly figure out what to do with your life, Libra.
SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21)
Scorpio, you don’t know what to do with your life because you’re right in the middle of a transformation.
The way your life advances is through a lot of transformative experiences.
You like dividing your life into “before” and “after” depending on whatever experience you’re going through at the time.
Of course, it’s always easier to see the before and after, after you come out of the transformation.
The reason you feel so confused and lost right now is that you’re in the eye of the storm.
Things will become clearer for you eventually, but you have to trust that you're on the right path and that you’re doing what you need to do for yourself.
It’s hard to go blindly into the future, but if anyone can handle it, it’s you.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 21)
Sagittarius, you don’t know what to do with your life because you haven’t really thought about it, yet.
You prefer to live in the moment and enjoy all of the gifts that life has to offer you, rather than pigeonhole yourself into one path for the future.
To some, this sounds very vague and irresponsible, but if you can’t enjoy life, then what are you really doing?
While you may not want to think too seriously about the future just yet, consider having a few ideas on the back burner for when you are ready to get serious.
That way, you can at least start with what’s important to you and go from there!
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 19)
Capricorn, you don’t know what to do with your life because you feel like you’ve hit a plateau.
Usually, you know exactly what you want in life, and you go out and get it – no problem. Recently, though, it feels like all of your efforts are just… meh.
Rather than abandoning whatever it is you’re working towards, consider readjusting your focus.
You still have the motivation to go after what you want in life, so you just need to remember what the finish line looks like to you.
Once you remember what you want in life, everything else will come naturally to you.
AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18)
Aquarius, you don’t know what to do with your life because what you’re doing right now doesn’t feel like you.
Sure, there are times in your life when you’re going to have to do things out of necessity – like finding a stable job and possibly living in a city you don’t love for a little bit – but that doesn’t mean you’re disappointing your future self.
If you can’t put your signature flair on what you do in life, it feels like you’re failing.
In reality, you’re just doing what you can to ensure a better, more exciting future for yourself.
Make time to do things that make you happy and motivate you to succeed, and the life you want to live will come to you in no time.
PISCES (February 19 - March 20)
Pisces, you don’t know what to do with your life because you feel like you’re drowning.
Wading through all of the advice from your support system, suggestions from career quizzes online, and trying to listen to yourself is overwhelming and exhausting.
You’re ready for a nap, not a conversation about your future.
As an intuitive and compassionate zodiac sign, you spend so much of your time listening to what everyone else wants to complain about.
When it comes to expressing how you feel, you often feel like you’re on your own to figure things out. Life is always going to be stressful (but also full of opportunity).
Just promise yourself that you will live life and work toward a future than makes YOU happy, not anyone else, no matter what that future may be.
Emily Ratay is a full-time writer living in Pittsburgh. She's passionate about the environment and feminism, and knows that anything is possible in the right pair of shoes.