What should you do?

People love thinking about what they should do, where they should go next.  


What will you do after high school? 
Do you think I should learn to play an instrument? 
Will you try out for that team? 
Should I find a new job? 
Where do you see yourself in five years? 


These are not easy questions to answer and they represent larger considerations about ourselves and our lives. One of the major challenges in life seems to be working out where to apply our precious talent and energy to create a positive existence and meaningful contribution. 


When faced with the confounding questions of life, humans turn to the mystics, deep thinkers and truth-talkers of their community. When wondering where to go with your life, perhaps there is a clue in the wisdom of the mystics, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Patty Mills.


“Being able to understand where we’ve come from, where we see the future, you know living in the present and then who we represent.”
Patty Mills 2021


“We tell the story of our elders in a never-ending chain”
“We know where we are, we know who we are”
Lin-Manuel Miranda We know The Way - Moana 2016


As a part of deciding on the best course of action for you as a person, you may need to consider where you have been. Maybe more than just where you have been, but where your community or society has been. It is in the informed context of the stories of the past that choices for the future and understanding of the present hold the most meaning. 


Moana, the chief’s daughter from the Island of Motunui in the land of Disney, struggled to reconcile the deep impulse she felt to cross the seas to save her people with the strict conservative rules of her village. Her pathway to self understanding and eventual triumph was fed directly by access to the story of her ancestors and their relationship with the world. 


Patty Mills captained the Australian basketball team, the Boomers, to their first Olympic medal after the team finished fourth at the 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2016 Olympic games. He articulated the powerful connection to the history of the Boomers as an element of the success of the team. Through understanding of their place as custodians and representatives of more than just themselves, the Boomers seemed to have created a culture strong enough to fuel the high quality preparation and performance required to win a medal at the 2021 games. 


Perhaps as we collectively and individually contemplate what is next for us, if we can see ourselves at a point in the story, we may be able to move forward with a sense of guidance and place. 


What to do is not what we have always done, however the choice may be an extension or reflection of lessons learned. 
What to do is not what is currently happening around and inside us, however the present must be considered in order make sensitive and informed choices. 
What to do is not only based on where we’d like to be, however the potential future available could be a wonderful guide for our ambitions.     


There are plenty of answers to the questions of what you should do and where you should go next. When you are thinking about it, perhaps also consider where you are and where you have come from.