When You Don’t Know What You Want in Life: Let the Bhagavad Gita Show You the Way
Riya Kumari | Feb 17, 2025, 23:23 IST
So, you don’t know what you want in life. Congratulations! You’ve officially joined the club of 99.9% of humanity. The rest are either lying, delusional, or have somehow cracked the code and ascended to another dimension. One minute you’re vibing, the next you’re staring at your ceiling at 2 AM, wondering if you should quit your job, start a coffee farm in Bali, or just finally learn how to make dal properly. Enter: the Bhagavad Gita. Yeah, that 5,000-year-old conversation that somehow has better life advice than your overpriced self-help book collection.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought, If only the universe would send me a sign! Maybe a glowing neon billboard that says, "THIS WAY TO YOUR PURPOSE." Yeah, not happening. Krishna tells Arjuna (who, by the way, was having an existential crisis way before it was cool) that waiting for absolute clarity is a waste of time. The real answer? Do your duty. Take action. Figure it out as you go. You don’t need a divine revelation—you just need to start moving.
In other words, stop refreshing your horoscope, stop taking those Which Career Matches Your Personality? quizzes, and just do something. Anything. It’s not about having the perfect plan—it’s about doing what needs to be done right now.
Look, I get it. Every third LinkedIn post tells you to follow your passion, like that’s the only way to find meaning. But here’s the Gita’s hot take: passion is fleeting, but duty? Duty sticks. Krishna tells Arjuna to do his karma (action) without obsessing over results. Basically: do the work, show up, give it your best shot—but don’t stress about where it’s all going. Because (spoiler alert) you can’t control that part anyway.
And let’s be honest: half of us don’t even know what our real passion is. We just know what we don’t want—like waking up before 8 AM or explaining to our relatives why we’re still single. So instead of spiraling about what you were meant to do, focus on doing the next right thing. The rest unfolds.
Ah, the classic overthinker’s dilemma: what if I make the wrong choice? What if I waste years doing something I don’t love? What if I move to a new city and then realize I hate it? Here’s Krishna’s answer: It’s better to fail at your own path than succeed in someone else’s. Translation: Stop trying to copy someone else’s version of success. The real failure isn’t choosing the "wrong" thing—it’s never choosing at all.
So yeah, maybe you’ll pick something and later realize, Eh, not for me. That’s fine. The only way to know is to try. And if you mess up? Congratulations, you’re human. Adjust. Reroute. Keep going.
3. The Fear of Not Knowing
There’s a moment in life when you realize you don’t know what you're doing. Not in the casual, I forgot why I walked into this room way—but in the deep, unsettling way where you start questioning every decision you’ve ever made. Maybe it happens in your early twenties, when the excitement of possibilities turns into the pressure of choosing one. Maybe it happens later, when the life you carefully built no longer fits who you’ve become.
Not knowing what you want isn’t the problem. The fear that you should know—that’s what makes it unbearable.
We hesitate because we believe there is a single correct answer. There isn’t. There is only the path you choose, and the path you don’t. It means that no experience is wasted. That even if you pick something and later realize it wasn’t for you, it was still yours.
4. Waiting for Clarity Is a Trap
In the Gita, Arjuna is paralyzed at the worst possible moment—right before battle. He knows he has to act, yet he hesitates. He doesn’t know what’s right. He doesn’t know what he wants. Krishna’s response isn’t comforting in the way we often seek comfort. He doesn’t tell Arjuna to take more time to think. He doesn’t tell him to wait until his heart feels certain. He tells him to act. Not because everything is clear. But because clarity comes from action, not before it. How much of our life is spent waiting? Waiting for passion to strike, waiting for a sign, waiting for the day we feel sure? But what if certainty isn’t a prerequisite? What if it’s a result?
5. Do What Must Be Done, Not What Feels Perfect
A modern problem: we’re obsessed with passion. We believe that if we don’t feel a deep, burning enthusiasm for something, it must not be "our thing." But Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna to follow his passion. He tells him to do his duty. Duty isn’t a word we like anymore.
It sounds rigid, heavy. But in reality, duty isn’t about obligation—it’s about doing what needs to be done, even when it doesn’t feel thrilling. If you’re lost, start where you are. Do what is in front of you. Maybe it won’t be the thing you do forever, but it will move you forward. Passion is unreliable. Discipline is not.
There Is No Final Destination
We speak about purpose as if it’s something we will one day reach, like a city on a map. But what if purpose is not a place? What if it is something we bring to everything we do? The Gita doesn’t say: Here is your purpose, now go live it. It says: Live with purpose, and everything else will follow. So, if you don’t know what you want, good. You are exactly where you need to be. Start walking. The path will shape itself beneath your feet.
In other words, stop refreshing your horoscope, stop taking those Which Career Matches Your Personality? quizzes, and just do something. Anything. It’s not about having the perfect plan—it’s about doing what needs to be done right now.
1. Passion is Overrated—Just Do the Work
Walk
( Image credit : Pexels )
Look, I get it. Every third LinkedIn post tells you to follow your passion, like that’s the only way to find meaning. But here’s the Gita’s hot take: passion is fleeting, but duty? Duty sticks. Krishna tells Arjuna to do his karma (action) without obsessing over results. Basically: do the work, show up, give it your best shot—but don’t stress about where it’s all going. Because (spoiler alert) you can’t control that part anyway.
And let’s be honest: half of us don’t even know what our real passion is. We just know what we don’t want—like waking up before 8 AM or explaining to our relatives why we’re still single. So instead of spiraling about what you were meant to do, focus on doing the next right thing. The rest unfolds.
2. But What If I Pick the Wrong Path?
Two roads
( Image credit : Pexels )
Ah, the classic overthinker’s dilemma: what if I make the wrong choice? What if I waste years doing something I don’t love? What if I move to a new city and then realize I hate it? Here’s Krishna’s answer: It’s better to fail at your own path than succeed in someone else’s. Translation: Stop trying to copy someone else’s version of success. The real failure isn’t choosing the "wrong" thing—it’s never choosing at all.
So yeah, maybe you’ll pick something and later realize, Eh, not for me. That’s fine. The only way to know is to try. And if you mess up? Congratulations, you’re human. Adjust. Reroute. Keep going.
3. The Fear of Not Knowing
Right
( Image credit : Pexels )
There’s a moment in life when you realize you don’t know what you're doing. Not in the casual, I forgot why I walked into this room way—but in the deep, unsettling way where you start questioning every decision you’ve ever made. Maybe it happens in your early twenties, when the excitement of possibilities turns into the pressure of choosing one. Maybe it happens later, when the life you carefully built no longer fits who you’ve become.
Not knowing what you want isn’t the problem. The fear that you should know—that’s what makes it unbearable.
We hesitate because we believe there is a single correct answer. There isn’t. There is only the path you choose, and the path you don’t. It means that no experience is wasted. That even if you pick something and later realize it wasn’t for you, it was still yours.
4. Waiting for Clarity Is a Trap
Wait
( Image credit : Pexels )
In the Gita, Arjuna is paralyzed at the worst possible moment—right before battle. He knows he has to act, yet he hesitates. He doesn’t know what’s right. He doesn’t know what he wants. Krishna’s response isn’t comforting in the way we often seek comfort. He doesn’t tell Arjuna to take more time to think. He doesn’t tell him to wait until his heart feels certain. He tells him to act. Not because everything is clear. But because clarity comes from action, not before it. How much of our life is spent waiting? Waiting for passion to strike, waiting for a sign, waiting for the day we feel sure? But what if certainty isn’t a prerequisite? What if it’s a result?
5. Do What Must Be Done, Not What Feels Perfect
A modern problem: we’re obsessed with passion. We believe that if we don’t feel a deep, burning enthusiasm for something, it must not be "our thing." But Krishna doesn’t tell Arjuna to follow his passion. He tells him to do his duty. Duty isn’t a word we like anymore.
It sounds rigid, heavy. But in reality, duty isn’t about obligation—it’s about doing what needs to be done, even when it doesn’t feel thrilling. If you’re lost, start where you are. Do what is in front of you. Maybe it won’t be the thing you do forever, but it will move you forward. Passion is unreliable. Discipline is not.