The Perils of Delayed Commitment to Life’s Most Pressing Question
There is a profound question that haunts all humans until we commit to a firm answer. It’s not good enough to provide an indecisive answer that can change on a whim. Providing a vague answer to this question won’t elimite that haunting either. The only way to quiet this nagging voice in our head is by fulfilling a promise with persistent action.
So what is this pressing life question?
What do you want?
Not what do you want right now or what do you want tomorrow. But what do you want — period. The longer you wait to answer this question, the less likely you will get what you want. Waiting to answer this question until your 40, 50, 60 or even 80 doesn’t eliminate the chances of finally getting what you want. On the other hand, answering this question when your 16, 21, or 30 doesn’t mean you can’t want something else when 40, 50, 60 or 80 either.
What matters most is committing to knowing what it is and then going after it as soon as possible. If you don’t know, there are a number of ways you can get help from others to find out.
If you know and don’t go after it, it’s all on you. This is the fear and this is what drives the delayed commitment. As long as you don’t know, you have a rebuttal for that nagging voice that haunts you. However, the truth is the excuse of not knowing is no better than knowing and not going after it.
The fact is not knowing what you want and/or not going after it leads to missing opportunities with generational impacts. Furthermore, wanting the wrong thing or going after something you never get is far better than living a life of ambivalence.