Ann Shoket shares her ultimate life advice for millennials looking for the Big Life...

Stop trying to find your passion

Just let it go. Looking for your passion or purpose sets an impossibly high bar - it’s paralysing and you’re going to find yourself sitting on the sidelines waiting for inspiration to strike.

Decide what matters to you

Think about the things that are meaningful for you. It doesn’t have to be some huge epiphany or have some greater cause – it could be fun, adventure, giving back, honesty, stability, anything that matters to you.

Think back to the things you wanted when you were 16 years old, because those dreams shaped who you were going to become. You want to get back to that feeling of being possible, that you are a blank slate with endless possibilities ahead of you. If you can go back to that one thing, even if it seems silly now, what was the feeling you were chasing? That’s what you want to put back in your life.

Get a side hustle

We’ve moved beyond the idea that your job can be everything. Great if it is, but if it’s not, you need to get a side hustle.

If you’re not in charge in your job, then your side hustle should put you in charge of something. If your job feels like it doesn’t have any great meaning for you, get a side hustle where you feel like you’re giving back in a way that feels impactful.

It’s not about making extra money - your side hustle is what pays you in self-respect. You want it to set your brain on fire with your own possibility. It makes you feel taller and stronger and more confident and better in bed. That is the key to a good side hustle.

And finally…

Let go of the things that you should do, and give yourself permission and freedom to do what you want to do. That is the big life.

This is not someone else’s life or someone else’s idea of what it should look like. This is not your all-perfect, Instagrammy high five, carefully curated feed, this is your life. The stakes are high. Your happiness is on the line.

And there has never been a greater opportunity for you to craft the world that you want to live in. Millennials are powerful – women are powerful. You have to let go of all the ideas that are cluttering your thinking. Feel your power. Own your power. Craft the life that you want on your own terms.

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