life planning/personal growth/self exploration exercises?

July 1, 2018 12:09 AM

What are some good exercises that can help me figure that out what I want to do with my life? I could go a lot of directions at this particular juncture in my life and I am finding myself paralyzed with ambivalence that comes from an abundance of choices and some definite depression (getting help with that!). Can you think of any life planning exercises that might help me get on with my thinking and maybe help me excite myself out of this rut?
posted by anonymous to Human Relations (8 answers total)

It's not a quick route but I spent 3 months bicycling Alaska solo. When I left I knew next to nothing about the living world (and didn't overly care for it), when I finished I knew what I was going to do .. and have been following that path ever since. In essence I did something absorbing, repetitive, that put a lot of new experiences my way, and gave my mind time to work away on my behalf, without interruptions from too many people.
posted by unearthed at 2:19 AM on July 1, 2018 [8 favorites]

A lot of people really like The Artists Way by Julia Cameron.

I personally really got a lot of value out of Wishcraft by Barbara Sher. There's a free PDF version on her website too. Holistic and very practical!
posted by jrobin276 at 3:48 AM on July 1, 2018 [10 favorites]

I like writing an email to my future self.
Also, I liked the book Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 6:00 AM on July 1, 2018 [2 favorites]

I've recommended this to clients for years. Free PDF workbook.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:05 AM on July 1, 2018 [11 favorites]

I like the book Designing Your Life, it has a fair amount of analyze your current life, think about how and what you would like to prioritize in the future, work out actionable plans. It contains a lot of exercises and I think it really helps to address the questions by writing your answers out.
posted by tangaroo at 11:49 AM on July 1, 2018 [2 favorites]

I really liked Josh Kaufman's
Josh Kaufman's Personal Master Plan worksheet

I worked through it a few years ago and it really helped me clarify some stuff.
posted by GnomePrime at 9:30 AM on July 3, 2018 [4 favorites]

Have you done a brainstorm of your likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, best/worst experiences? Maybe do that and start there?

I'm religious, so I like to tune in to my 'still small voice of calm' and listen to what that has to say, and tune in to what I'm 'supposed' to do.

I love walks, and they always help me gain clarity about things.

I also really like Linda Raynier on youtube - hope these two videos are helpful!
posted by Crookshanks_Meow at 8:11 PM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

This was recommended in another recent AskMetafilter, but I have found YearCompass to be a really good workbook to think about the past year & next year in more concrete terms.

I've also found reading "self-help" career books to be good food for thought, e.g., What Color is Your Parachute, Getting Unstuck: A Guide to Discovering Your Next Career Path, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One.

Another less career-oriented, but good "self-help" book is the classic Feeling Good by David Burns. It helped me untangle a lot of perceptions/assumptions that I have about my career/job/work/day-to-day.
posted by ellerhodes at 9:09 PM on July 9, 2018