As a senior in college, I am facing some major life choices as I decide where to go and what to do next. I struggle with change, and making this decision has been a great challenge for me. As such, I have been reaching out to numerous friends, mentors, and professors to gain their insight and advice. While advice can only get you so far, I have found that many lessons and ideas have helped me reach my own conclusions in a more confident way.

There was one conversation that was particularly striking; I met with one of my favorite professors (and mentors) on campus and we discussed his experiences, my options, and his philosophy on living. He is a deep believer in finding a career that combines work and play. While I agree, it is difficult to use that belief as guidance as you embark on a first career choice–a time when there are innumerable paths and options.

Given this problem, he told me about his bucket theory. Here is the idea:
1) You have three buckets
2) Time, Security/Financial Security, Loving what you do
3) Make sure at least two are full, while filling all three is ideal…it might not always be possible

Don’t mind my scribbling, but this is the picture I drew as he described his theory to me:

Using this theory, I decided on the next step in my life. I made a difficult choice…but I know I will be filling the buckets of time and loving what I am doing. It might not be secure, which scares me, but I am beyond excited. I am so grateful for guidance from such wonderful people and can’t wait to start my life in the grown-up world!

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How do you make big decisions? Do you have trusted mentors to turn to?