I never regret going for a swim. I never regret following through on an artistic project. I never regret traveling abroad. I never regret catching up with friends. I never regret road trips. I never regret challenging myself and learning something new.

In a world with more possibilities than ever, it may be hard to figure out the answer to the age-old question, “What should I do with my life?” To be honest, that question can be a problem itself. So let’s reframe the question and ask instead, “What do you never regret doing?”

I like this question because it allows us to take inventory of the things we already enjoy. Maybe you don’t know what to do with your life and that could be quite daunting, but maybe you can find comfort in the fact that there are already many things you want to keep in your life moving forward.

When trying to determine what we want to do in the future, it’s easy to feel like we need to fill it with epic activities. But that overlooks many less dramatic and noteworthy things that could still lead to a life well-lived. For example, being able to come back to a comfy home, going for a drive along the beach, and being able to take a wide variety of classes at the local city college. Those are all things I want to keep in my life.

By reframing one of life’s biggest questions in this manner, you may find that you already know what you want to do with your life. Moving forward may not be so much about attaining what you don’t have, but about building a life around what you already do.

What do you never regret doing? 

Start there.

by Jason Lam