Most of us spend our early lives climbing a ladder that others have placed before us. We follow the prescribed steps—school, career, relationships—without questioning whether the wall we’re climbing is the right one. Then one day, we reach the top and realize something unsettling: we don’t know if this is where we actually want to be.
The truth is, many of us were never taught to look inward. We’ve become experts at meeting expectations but amateurs at understanding our own desires. So when faced with life’s infinite possibilities, we feel lost, seeking direction from external sources instead of our own instincts.
The key to finding our true path isn’t in climbing faster or higher—it’s in stopping to ask if we’re even on the right ladder. Through journaling and deep self-reflection, we can begin to unearth our true selves, translating the fragments of identity we uncover into a life that aligns with who we really are.