In the summer of 2024, I took a trip to Ecuador to visit my friend who was living there at the time. While we were there, we had adventures like I had never experienced; white water rafting, bungee jumping, and a race with over 3000ft of elevation gain-in the rain.
However, none of these experiences were quite as significant as the existential exploration that I embarked on while I was there. At a point of uncertainty with the trajectory of my life, I decided I would interview my friends, family, and even strangers, to help discover how others approached the challenge of charting a life path.
I came up with the following list of questions:
- What are your life goals?
- How are you orienting yourself towards those goals?
- Do you think people can pursue multiple goals at once? If so, how?
- How do you manage your energy (day to day or otherwise)?
- Which of my goals do you think is most worth pursuing and why? (Music, Tech, Academia)
The responses I got were invaluable; Some highlights include:
- (Q1) “To be a beacon of goodness”
- (Q2) “What I’ve learned is its very important to listen to the wants and needs of my body.”
- (Q1) “To be happy, content, at peace, and doing something good.”
- (Q3) “I do think people can have multiple goals at once, yes. Every moment is different. Every time you finish a task, you are in a different place. Goals aren’t static things either. Goals are a part of dream and vision, they aren’t just something you’re supposed to have.”
- (Q4) “I have emotional energy, metaphysical energy, and physical energy. When one of those pools is full, good things happen. When all three are full, great things happen.”
People’s responses to Question 5 generally leaned towards the idea that I should do what I want. However, one person suggested that I pursue all three; Pursue music technology academically. And after a lot of thought, that’s what I decided to do.
All in all; if you ask, people can truly help you answer the hard questions in ways you never could on your own.
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