How to decide what to do with your life
Nobody decides this once. What people actually do is make a five-year bet, learn from it, and revise. Treating it as permanent is what makes it impossible.
What to actually weigh
Shrink the question
Not the whole life. The next credible chapter. A question you could answer in five years is one you can start answering today.
What are you optimising for?
Money, freedom, mastery, proximity to people you love. You can have several, but not all at maximum, and the ranking changes what a good answer looks like.
What would you regret not trying?
The things that keep resurfacing after years are worth more weight than the ones that sound impressive when described to other people.
Frequently asked
What should I do with my life?
Ask a smaller question. Decide what the next five years are for, choose the option that keeps the most doors open, and revise when you learn something.
Is it normal to not know what to do with my life at 30?
Yes — and it is a different problem at 30 than at 20, because there is now a track record to read. What you have already done narrows the question considerably.