Tips for figuring out what you actually want!!
— Pay attention to what you do in your free time when no one's watching and nothing is being optimized for anyone else's approval.
— Notice what you're consistently curious about, even in small ways. Curiosity tends to be a more honest signal than aspiration.
— Try things before you're certain about them. Clarity about what you want usually comes from doing, not from thinking about doing.
— Separate what you want from what you were taught to want. A lot of confusion here is actually unexamined inheritance, not genuine uncertainty.
— Ask what you'd do if no one were watching and nothing needed to be impressive. The answer often reveals more than years of introspection.
— Notice what kind of stories you're drawn to, what kind of people you admire, what kind of problems you like solving. Patterns reveal preference better than direct questioning does.
— Give yourself permission for the answer to be unconventional, embarrassing, or inconvenient. Honest answers aren't always tidy ones.
— Trust that wanting things changes over time, and the goal isn't a permanent answer, it's an honest one for right now.
