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YOU’RE ON THE

You’ve got a vision of how you want your life to look — you want to do better, be better, live a good life — but often it’s like you’re wandering in the forest without a map, writes KELLY EDEN.

We’re bombarded with the successes of others, and sometimes it can be hard not to compare. We know we can do what they do. Or can we? There’s this pull between our determination to live our best lives and our self-doubts. One day everything is progressing nicely, the next you wonder if you’ll ever reach your goals. Love seems out of reach. Success is far off. Are we even on the right track for where we want to be?

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HERE ARE SEVEN CLUES THAT YOU’RE NOT AS LOST AS YOU THINK:

1. You know you’d do it differently now

We get very wrapped up in the moment and forget how far we’ve come. If you look back at what you did a few years ago and think, “What an idiot! I’d do that so differently now!” The only reason you can say that is because you’ve grown.

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You can see areas that still need work

Your areas of weakness don’t mean you suck. If you notice them, it means you’re becoming a self-aware person. Self-aware people recognise their feelings, work on building their confidence, and know their worth — their strengths and weaknesses.

You have let people go

Knowing that it’s healthy to let some people go — friends or lovers — is a sign of growth. We often stay in relationships for the wrong reasons. We stay because we feel guilty, or loyal, or that we have to because they rely on us.

You need help from others

Needing help is a sign of maturity. We’d be idiots to think we can do this life all on our own. We need support to deal with issues and go through hard times; we need each other.

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7. You read to learn about yourself

Understanding ourselves helps us understand others. I love personality tests. They often attempt to place you in little boxes: introvert or extrovert, peaceful or powerful, ordered or chaotic — and personality is far more complicated than that, but they do help you build up a small picture of your uniqueness.

You have people you love and that love you

You have family, a partner, or a close friend or two in your bubble. It doesn’t need to be a huge bubble, either!

You do things that contribute to the world

You work, you feed your family, you volunteer or give to charity, you listen to your friend when she’s sad. You take the time to do things for others because you understand the importance of being part of things that are bigger than yourself.

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Are you searching for a rewarding career; something you can get passionate about? Do you want to make a difference in young people’s lives? Teaching could be the profession for you. Better yet, you can study towards becoming a primary or early childhood teacher via distance study through the University of Canterbury. www.canterbury.ac.nz/education 0800 VARSITY (827 748)