Changing the Question

After a conversation with my mom tonight, I was forced to wonder if I am going about deciding on a major/future job in the wrong way. She said that I should assess what my gifts are and then find a way to use those gifts in a way that helps others and glorifies God. It sounds so simple, yet I don't know that I ever thought about it quite with that focus. It is so easy to get caught up in "What do I want to do?" that sometimes I think I miss the "What can I do to help others given the gifts I have?" I believe which question you ask yourself originates from your original goal: either to do the best you can do in life, succeed, and make yourself happy and fulfilled or focus your life outside yourself and on others. The latter option requires you to see the point of your existence (or presence in the world) as to make the lives of others better or to somehow improve the world in a small way. It completely shifts your goal from having the best life you can to forgetting yourself in your efforts to dedicate your life to helping others, in whatever area you can. This doesn't mean you have to be a missionary or a doctor or a nurse. You can be anyone and do anything with this focus. No matter the occupation, you can do it with a selfish agenda or a selfless one.

Also, by starting with the original premise of assessing your gifts and going from there, you are more able to cut out wishful thinking and unrealistic ambitions. I am not suggesting that you shouldn't dream...but there comes a point when it would be a waste of time, money, and whatever your real talent is to pursue your wishful ambition. For instance, it would not be a good idea for a person who has dreams of becoming an actor to pursue it heedlessly if the said person had absolutely no acting talent potential.

So the question is no longer "What do I want to do?" but rather "What did God make me to do?" He made me expressly with certain gifts and talents in order to do something for His glory...the tricky part is figuring out what that is.