Completely, Totally, and Utterly Lost

[mseiger889]

Sorry ahead of time for the long post, I just really feel the need to fully explain myself somewhere that people can understand. I have many issues I am currently trying to deal with, so if I ramble in here or stray off topic, again I apologize.
________

My name is Mike and I am a junior in college right now. I just joined this board after stumbling upon Steve's Top 10 Reasons You Should Never Get A Job from a google search. I was googling what to do with life without getting a job.

I have a 4.0 GPA, volunteer with the universities athletic association (uaa), am a teaching assistant for a class on entrepreneurship and am a brother of one of the best fraternities on campus. So why did I google this? I feel lost.

I'm at the point in my college career that I can graduate early without any extra effort, and must set a clear career path (internships, grad school, job). Every time I sit down to do this I feel lost and uncertain about what I am doing. I do not feel comfortable making choices now that will ultimately decide my future years down the road. In the end I always end up asking myself the same question...

What if I am in the wrong major? I constantly feel as though there are many things I am capable of doing and fear getting stuck in a limited field with repetitive tasks (my major is Sport Management btw.) I love sports and have a good business sense, but through my volunteering with the UAA I get the feeling many jobs will be mundane and unrewarding. I really want to do something that I can feel good about, makes me think in creative ways, and of course makes some decent green along the way.

When I try to ask myself, if not sport management, then what would I like to do, the most honest answer I can come up with nothing. However, upon finding this site and browsing a couple of different articles, I am noticing an underlying problem to my dilemma. Right now, I do not particularly like way I think, act, and feel emotionally. I deal with depression, insecurity, self-confidence, and sometimes paranoid problems. I want to develop myself personally into a person I am proud of and other people want to be around. Not in terms of material or other superficial measures, but to have more self-control over my thoughts and actions and become more congruent as a human being.

These are tasks that I am ready to take on and willing to accept responsibility for. This to me is what seems most important in my life, more than any career I could decide to take on. The problem now is that I do not believe I can do this while worrying about my degree and career. I have found myself at various websites like this one with other self-help guides and such, but I lack the focus to commit myself to the techniques while I am also worrying about where I am going job-wise and end up giving up on them rather quickly.

So now I arrive at the title of this thread, I am completely, totally, and utterly lost (anyone who actually read this far probably is too). I have come to the time in my life where I feel a deep desire to better myself personally, a feeling I do not have for my studies or any career at this present time. If anyone can offer any insight or advice as to what steps I take from here, I would be extremely grateful.

-MS

[restless]

Hi!

Unfortunately, I can't give you any advice regarding your career. I'm feeling lost myself.
But ask me again in one year, and I'll have an answer

Try not to get overwhelmed. Okay, you have several problems in your life. Don't let them become one big blob in your mind. You can address them individually and improve your life step by step.

Regarding depression: There are scientifically proven treatments for depression. I can highly recommend "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" and "The Feeling Good Handbook" by David Burns. Both books are very cheap. Just work on the exercises in the book every day. You only need pen and paper for that, and the effect on your mood is amazing. Just keep in mind that this takes time. But you should already feel better after several weeks!
If you need additional help, seek professional help. Above-mentioned books have a reliable self-test you can use to assess the severity of your depression.
If you have any additional questions about cognitive behaviour therapy, feel free to ask.

[CoolBee]

Regarding careers etc: in the modern era this whole idea of knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life at a young age - 18-21 or whatever - is a total red herring.

It's much more important to be adaptable, flexible, problem solve, use whatever you have to deal with 'fresh incoming' the like of which you cannot yet conceive of.

Back when I was 18, computers filled whole rooms, we used to program with punched cards. There was no such thing as a personal computer, let alone a laptop. The internet didn't exist. At 22 I was a school teacher and, as the physics and maths teacher, it fell to me to run the 'Computer Club' after-school activity where boys would proudly show up with their ZX81s and sometimes they may even have got their parents to by them a whole 1Kb RAM pack extra!!!! Imagine how much the world has changed just in those few (to me!) years!

Your idea of being a person you are proud of sounds really great. How about putting some time and energy in to thinking of all the things you would like to experience in your typical normal week - and figuring out how to bring those in to your normal daily life other than via the standard 'career' route.

What are 3 things you would love to do be feel have in your normal daily existence? What is it about those things that makes you feel alive and passionate? How can you get those things right now?

[hawkal]

Check out this video: reboot your brain.

I know it doesn't exactly fit your issue but I believe it would still be very valuable to you.