When having dinner with friends and their college-age daughter, I was reminded of the newness of the world when first entering an internship in a work environment where the student could apply their schooling to real-life problems.
So much is new as we finish school at any level and then enter the workforce. The world is a different place. Much different than school. Where we need time to adjust and adapt to new routines & habits as the content of our days shifts abruptly. Making sense of the world is forced on us during this transition.
But does this newness and challenge only occur in our youth? I believe we navigate each of our days trying to make sense of the world. With each challenge, surprise, and obstacle. Every time we want to accomplish something different or more. Growth and our evolving self constantly is faced with the same task of making sense of the world.
This is slightly different than finding a story we could tell ourselves about where we are today. It’s more a task of figuring out what we see and where we fit in. Then assessing how do we survive and then flourish? Trying to see where the opportunities are with respect to our interests and strengths. Reflecting on what obstacles and challenges are worth tackling.
Once we move on and decide to act, the cycle repeats itself. Making sense of the world is not so much about getting things right every time, but more of an exercise in reflection to recalibrate in order to figure out where we are today so we can better see how far we need to go while exploring the best way to get there.
No matter what our age.