It’s okay, you don’t have to have everything figured out

We’ve all had that feeling. The feeling where we need to have it all figured out. We look at our parents, our successful friends, celebrities. We browse through social media aimlessly. We wonder how everyone how’s it all figured out, but we don’t.

In college, I thought I had to have everything figured out. 20 years old, quickly embarking on my senior year. What came next was unexpected and unknown. I needed to have everything figured out before I graduated. My parents were going to cut me off. It was time to have all the answers, to figure it out before it was too late.

The pressure is real. Everyone feels it. Especially those that are in school and quickly reaching graduation. They may think, I need to have everything in place, so I can start being an adult. I need to make sure I find the job of my dreams. But wait, I still don’t know what I want to do with my life.

And that’s okay, you don’t have to have everything figured out.

This past summer, I’ve been working with a lot of interns at my company. They are a decade younger than me and quickly entering the workforce following their junior and senior year. One common theme I find among them is that they still have no idea what they want to do in life. Sadly, they feel an intense pressure to have everything figured out.

But it is okay, you don’t have to have everything figured out. Your twenties and thirties, maybe even your whole life is about discovery. Figuring out what career suits you best and what really motivates you. The only way to discover this about yourself is to enter the “real world.” It’s hard to figure out what you really want out of life while in college. After all, it is a sheltered place that at times protects its students from life outside of campus.

The only way to have everything figured out in terms of a career is to experiment.

Careers are journeys and they are long. If you are unsure about what you want to do in life, that is okay. Take the best job that you can find, even if it is unrelated to your major. Learn as much as you can on the ground. If you hate it, look to find another job that better suits your interests. You will be compiling a vault of experiences you can reference on things you hate and love about jobs.

I’m not advocating job jumping. It’s important to not jump ship too early in a career. What I am advocating is to use your twenties as a period of self-discovery. If you can, try out different industries, specializations, and career fields. From there, you will find what really makes you content in a career. Happiness will come and go in a job, feeling content is a feeling you should strive for. If you enjoy what you are doing day-to-day you will not have to worry about finding the next best thing.

Most of the successful people you see are still figuring things out. They are content with their career journey and they’ve learned to enjoy the ride. They figure things out along the way. Embrace the feeling of not knowing and keep moving forward while adapting your career journey.