“What should I do with my life…?”

80,000 hours… this is the average number of hours that make up your working life. No wonder “what should I do with my life?” is one of the most challenging decisions we face. Should you focus on making money? Follow your passion? Be guided by your interests? Or do what will be most valuable to society?

Benjamin Todd, the co-founder and Executive Director of 80,000 Hours (an Oxford-based charity dedicated to helping people find fulfilling careers that make a real difference) asserts that your interests change throughout life and they are therefore not a solid basis on which to choose a career. His slogan is “do what’s valuable” if you want a fulfilling career. This is certainly an interesting proposition…

But is there a correlation between purusing your interests and how happy you will be in life? The first suggestion in the article The complete guide to choosing a career is a good one: focus on your next immediate decision.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about where you want to be in the long term at all—having a broad vision for the future can be really helpful—but don’t agonize about figuring it all out right now… Talking about career “choice” in the singular creates an unnecessary amount of pressure. Instead, think of your career as a series of smaller decisions, at each stage building on and learning from earlier experiences.

Another good point raised in this article is that most people don’t receive anywhere near enough career guidance. Given you spend so many hours at work, it’s worthwhile choosing work that’s aligned with your values and developing a career that will contribute to your overall happiness and well-being. Career coaching will help you listen to your inner-voice when choosing or changing career.