How to Figure Out What to Do With Your Life

Our values change over time. It's not self-evident unless we self-assess. We self-assess by ordering our values and identifying which projects best satisfy them.

It's uncomfortable to commit to a long-term project unless we first do two things: 1. Weigh the pros and cons until we're convinced our ROI is very high. 2. Rule out everything else.

Remember that it's okay if your values change in the future. For now, just focus on:

Then, for each project you're considering, place a checkmark next to the value that it has a high likelihood of fulfilling. 

Finally, based on how many checkmarks each project has, and how highly those values are ranked, compare the potential fulfillment of each project. 

Once you uncover what you should truly be doing—and you can wholeheartedly justify it to yourself—there's really nothing more empowering.

The Personal Values exercise Write down the values you passionately care about when pursuing projects.

Order those values from most to least important today.

Which project would I most regret not having accomplished by the time I'm 80—given the motivations I have for the foreseeable future?

We universally lack the discipline to halt our inertia to ask, Should I still be doing what I'm doing?