Afraid of making a mistake in life by committing

[Anirban657]

I am a 21 year old male from India currently in college. I am afraid of making a mistake by committing to a way of life or career or philosophy because I feel like I will be not end up being a good person since all of the available ways of life or career or philosophy are somehow imperfect. 

For example, if I become a salesperson because I want to earn a lot of money, I will be contributing to capitalism in a small way which I won't do and money is an unhealthy value. If I become a youtuber because I want to have a meaningful impact in mental health, I may get meaning but I may not earn a lot of money. 

The problem is I get a feeling that commuting to a career or way of life can be a mistake. And I am unable to figure out what to do to solve it. What is the source of this doubt or fear? 

How do I overcome this fear? Please help me understand this problem. Do you face similar problems? How to overcome it? 

[Mason Riggle]

Your fear or 'anxiety' about what to do is driven by neurotic 'thoughts of the future'.  Similarly, people who experience depression are nerotically focusing on 'thoughts of the past'.. by training yourself to keep your awareness in the present moment (mindfulness meditation), rather than focusing on thoughts of the future (or thoughts of the past), your fears will subside.

Now, it's still important to think about the future.  I might recommend Leo's life purpose course.. or looking into 'the Law of Attraction'.. which basically involves really figuring out what you want, because it seems (you can verify it for yourself, I can't prove it to you) that when you know what you want, the Universe conspires to make it happen. 
 

[Anirban657]

@Mason RiggleThank you! I will watch the life purpose course. 

[Mason Riggle]

@Anirban657  you have to pay for the Life Purpose Course, but based on the quality of his other content, I bet it's worth every penny.   

Edited July 7, 2021 by Mason Riggle

[Anirban657]

@Mason Riggle I took the life purpose course 5years ago. I already bought it 5 years ago. At that time I was in high school and did not have enough life experience to specifically find out my life purpose. I guess this time it will be something new that I will find out.

[Leo Gura]

This is the issue of being decisive.

Of course you can make mistakes and even disasterous choices in life. But life is all about making wise choices in the face of uncertainty, ambiguity, and imperfect knowledge.

The key thing to realize is that the biggest mistake is often simply being indecisive.

You should be more afraid of indecsiveness than making a bad choice. Most bad choices can be corrected for. Chronic indecisiveness will get you so stuck as to ruin your life.

Making mistakes is crucial to learning. See my episode: Exposing Yourself To More Experience.

Don't worry about making mistakes. Just make choices in alignment with wisdom and your top values, and then commit to working hard. Hard work fixes most mistakes.

Don't seek perfection, just seek constant improvement of your current state.

[Hulia]

8 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

This is the issue of being decisive.

Of course you can make mistakes and even disasterous choices in life. But life is all about making wise choices in the face of uncertainty, ambiguity, and imperfect knowledge.

The key thing to realize is that the biggest mistake is often simply being indecisive.

You should be more afraid of indecsiveness than making a bad choice. Most bad choices can be corrected for. Chronic indecisiveness will get you so stuck as to ruin your life.

Making mistakes is crucial to learning. See my episode: Exposing Yourself To More Experience.

Don't worry about making mistakes. Just make choices in alignment with wisdom and your top values, and then commit to working hard. Hard work fixes most mistakes.

Done seek perfection, just seek constant improvement of your current state.

Thank you, Leo! The speech is so good. I hope, I can remember it and repeat at the right moment for some unnerving indecisive species.

 

[Anirban657]

@Leo Gura Ok Leo. Will watch your video. 

[Jacob Morres]

almost word for word i have the same issue. i think it is a form of "perfectionism" 

i'm trying to look into some solutions and get some therapy. mine has become kind of intense 

there should be tons of articles and resources rergarding this issue though 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Jacob Morres