What should I do with rest of my life?
What should I do with the rest of my life?
Like many others, I ask myself this question quite a lot. I also ask other people, read books and watch Ted talks on this question. There is a theme, that I want to outline and answer for myself. This is a personal blog post, that may not give anybody any direction rather than me. It is intended for me as a resource to come back to in case I get lost or struggle with the decisions I make.
First, though, an evaluation of my status quo (as of August 2024): I am Seb, 32 years old, I swim, I pickle (I play Pickleball), I run 6 miles easily, I cycle, I hike frequently 15 miles and 5k feet elevation and I practice Yoga. From an average perspective, I consider myself healthy, I drink little to moderately, I have a coffee addiction, and I sleep 8 hours a night. I got the best family in the world: my wondeful wife Joy, two cute kittens Sasha and Simba, many friends in and from many countries. Besides, I get to work as an AI engineer working on persuasive messages, at a remote company from California that is really great. From a material perspective, we rent a great place to live, we own a reliable car, we both have an income and, no financial worries. We don’t ever want kids, and with that I feel very secure with our future. Hence, from my perspective, I got all I ever wanted and needed!
So what’s next?
The question above, though, provokes to ask - what is next? Before having been to 75 countries, I used to answer this with traveling more but now we have kittens to care for that prevent us from big trips out of the PNW; having been single for a long time, I used to answer this with finding a partner but I found the best wife in the world, Joy. Trying to make a career in tech since 2019, finding an AI job was always an objective but I work at an amazing company and get to code 8+ hours a day.
Now, I feel as if I can optimize for income since we might want to buy a house in the future, and I focus on getting even better at coding, to support that. However, there is no strict timeline, or a need to ever find an apartment. Frankly, we could move to a more affordable country tomorrow, buy a house, and live economically to not work again for the next 20 years. So these things don’t matter too much. So again, I’ll pose the question? What to dO? What shall I do with the rest of my life?
My buddy Mo recently said that he is 40 and he can tell me what matters: focus on health, your tribe (friends and family), and work. He meant exercise, sleep enough, eat healthy; have and maintain friendships; and join a company with good people to learn from. Peter Druck says create and maintain a group.
But what is MY ANSWER?
First, it is striving to be an amazing husband. Joy is the best that ever has happened to me, we think alike, we are in love ever since we met each other, and so making sure I continue to contribute to nurturing and maintaining our special connection is of utmost importance. Next, it is staying healthy: I get so much fun from meeting people via running, playing Pickleball or hiking that it just makes sense to hang with people that way. Third, is continuing to grow at my craft: AI & Coding. There is things, I want and have to study, learn and improve, so I have to give that the right priority. Forth, being a great cat dad. By that I mean finding local fun & having a great time with people here in the PNW while not traveling too far so that they are not alone for too long. Lastly, I can give: I can teach people languages, motivate them, teach them Pickleball and get them into running. I can listen and try to have fun with them and be curious. I can make people feel loved and good. That is what matters. To summarize, what do I do with the rest of my life is to nurture my family & friendships, stay healthy and practice my craft as an engineer.
What should I do now? Live my life, laugh, and take it easy. I love you Joy, Simba, Sasha, family and friends. I love a good night of sleep, running, and Pickleball. I love coding in Python and coffee.
Those are the things I want to do with the rest of my life.
Conclusion: Embracing the journey
In the end, what I want to do with the rest of my life is to live it fully, with purpose and joy. It’s about continuing to grow, to love, to contribute, and to find wonder in the world around me. It’s about being the best husband, friend, professional, and person I can be.