The springtime brings many exciting events: confirmations, baptisms, bar mitzvahs. One that launches a huge, whole new beginning, as well as lifestyle, is graduation. Be it from high school or college, graduation becomes the turning point at which education ends and career and adult life begins.

You have been preparing for this life passage for some time. And what shape your life takes, and what career you step into, depends on choices you have made as well as are currently considering.
When making these choices, often those around you are full of opinions about what career you should choose–usually some practical field whose skills they have witnessed in you, or more often, a career that they wanted for themselves and never quite achieved.
Sometimes an uncle urges you to follow in his footsteps and go into law, a teacher saw talent in science and talked you into going to medical school; your father wants you to carry on the family business, your mother wants you to be the artist she never could be, or the salesman like her father.
This is all offered in the most sincere, loving way, to help guide and support you. But the pitfall is this: in all the uncertainty, it is easy to get caught up in wanting to please others and let them be the decision makers of your future. The risk is you get lost in the suggestions, and disconnected from what you truly want for yourself; what your heart longs for. Another risk is that you end up feeling you have spent your entire life doing things that have not brought you the satisfaction you desired, because it was not “right livelihood” for you.
When you are searching for direction at whatever point you are in life, it is vital that you take the time to ask yourself some deep questions–- What do I care about deeply?- What it is that I really love doing?- Money aside for a moment, what is fun for me?- How do I want to contribute to the lives of others?- What in my heart of hearts would I do with my life if I could do anything I wanted?
As you explore these questions, you begin to get in touch with what your heart truly longs for in this life. And then, by giving yourself permission to pursue that longing, you are designing a life guaranteed to bring fulfillment, satisfaction and a grateful heart.