There are two ways at looking at your life. You exist without reason or purpose. Everything is a chain reaction beginning with the big bang and culminating in a bunch of chemicals forming into the body and brain you have now, programmed to act and respond to the world around you in a relatively predictable and ultimately pointless manner. Or, you can look into the future, decide what you want to see there, and figure out what you are capable of causing to happen, maybe better than anyone else.

Let’s just focus on the latter today, if that’s OK with you. (And I’ll agree that parts of the first are not without their validity.) So we are assuming you have the ability to discover for yourself what you can do with the rest of your life, and then act on that discovery to bring about a future more closely aligned with what you want from it than what happens if you do nothing, or more accurately, keep doing the same things you’re doing now. Should you go ahead and do that?

The vast majority of people live out their lives responding to the environment they are in, absorbing parental influence, cultural normalcy, formal education, commercial objectives and convincing consumeristic marketing. The response to this is to do some variation on what your parents did, act like your peers, try to fit in with your school and work mates, pursue a career, and spend your money in ways that some inner voice is telling you is worthwhile. This is acceptable, comfortable and extremely common. This is also a choice, whether most realize it or not.

There are limiting factors in everyone’s lives. Some are born under threat of violence if they behave in ways outside those dictated to them. Some are born with limited resources, education and social support systems. Some live lives of opulence and excess, but are drowning in distraction and an unending series of momentary pleasures, without any natural urges beyond instant gratification being acknowledged. Most see what seems normal, become what seems normal, stay there indefinitely, and die after that normal life ends, not because of limitations in options or ability, but merely in the satisfaction that comes from remaining safely in the status quo.