What do you do when you don’t know what to do with your life?

A common suggestion to young whipper-snappers embarking on their big life journey involves following their passion, working towards their vision, and fulfilling their overall destiny (because yeah, that narrows it down, thanks). Even if it’s not explicitly stated, it’s a constant pressure that just seems to be there.

Well how does one even go about discovering their passions, vision, or destiny (if that’s even a thing)?

It goes without saying that there are many ways of doing this. A quick Google search will tell you that. Some people even say that putting pressure on kids (or really anyone) to follow their passions is actually pretty bad advice.

I’m not here to say which viewpoint is inherently right or inherently wrong, because I’m not about that life. However, I recently watched a talk in which the speaker proposed an interesting viewpoint that I’ve found to be true in my own life and relatively limited experience.

His stance was essentially: Don’t have a vision for your life? Find someone who does, and help them work towards accomplishing theirs. And maybe, along the way, you’ll discover your own.

That might seem overly simple, straightforward, or common knowledge-esque to everybody else on this earth, but I found it relatively mind-blowing. To think—focusing on something other than exclusively myself might actually help gain some larger perspective for life? Whoa. Who woulda thunk.

Someone who knows where they’re going, and is willing to take you along with them, is an invaluable kind of a person to have in your life. Whether it’s through work, volunteerism, or just walking through life with someone, taking time to invest in the vision of others is a powerful change from the endless cycles of self-analysis that too many of us find ourselves stuck in.

Looking back, I can see in my own life how working for and with individuals who have a strong vision is incredibly empowering. It’s exciting and contagious and makes you realize what’s possible when people believe in what they’re working towards.

Those kinds of opportunities allow you to not only help someone make a difference in the world, but also discover and develop skills and passions you didn’t even know you had.

Who in your life has a vision that they’re actively working towards? How can you partner with them and help them make it happen? Even if you know what you’re all about and what you’re doing with your life, working alongside someone else can still be a valuable, transformational experience.

Let me know what you think and if you’ve got any personal experiences that go along with this!