After completing my bachelor's degree, I found myself completely lost. I had no internships, no job offers, and no real skills I could confidently showcase on my resume. But surprisingly, what frustrated me the most wasn’t the lack of opportunities—it was the lack of clarity. I had no idea what I truly wanted to do with my career or life.

In that frustration, I began desperately searching for shortcuts—hoping someone would just tell me,

“This is a good skill, learn it, it works for everyone.”

I spoke to seniors, listened to all kinds of advice: “Learn this, learn that.” But all the mixed guidance only added to my confusion, leading to mental burnout.

The truth is—when you don’t have clear goals of your own, it’s easy to adopt someone else’s dreams as if they were yours. You start chasing what others are doing, without questioning whether it truly aligns with your nature or passion. And when it doesn’t work out—as it often won’t—you’re left blaming yourself, wondering why you failed at something you were never meant to chase in the first place.

So instead of trying to fit into roles others recommended, I took a step back and did a simple introspection:
Why am I in this situation? What did I do wrong that others didn’t?

I paused the constant self-criticism and tried to observe my life from a third-person perspective. That’s when it hit me—the biggest reason I couldn’t find clarity or a sense of direction was the distractions I had let dominate my life.

These distractions included:

• Online games (PUBG, Valorant, etc.)
• Binge-watching content (series, movies, and yes, even adult content)
• Getting emotionally stuck in unrequited feelings

I never realized how these things were quietly shaping my mindset, energy levels, and time management. I was constantly chasing dopamine—doing things that felt good in the moment but left no value behind. With no supervision or guidance, I did what was easy, fun, and addictive—only to end each day feeling unproductive and disappointed.

Eventually, I understood the real issue:
It wasn’t just the distractions—it was an unaware version of me who never evaluated his actions or priorities.

🔁 What I Changed

The first thing I did was cut down those distractions:

• No more online games
• Gradually stepped back from social media
• Reduced YouTube scrolling and pointless screen time

I started building a routine at home—focusing on improving my diet, physical activity, mental clarity, and even dabbling in spirituality. Slowly, I felt more energetic and curious again. The urge to scroll or waste time faded.

I began exploring. I read about different career paths, technologies, and real-world skills. And for the first time, I discovered something I genuinely liked: Linux.

As I dove deeper, I learned about the Cloud and DevOps world—things I had heard about before but never taken seriously. Suddenly, everything started to feel more aligned. I wasn’t doing it because everyone else was—I was doing it because it made sense to me.

📌 Where I Am Now

I’m currently learning Linux (Red Hat) and plan to pursue certification if needed. My focus is not on collecting certificates, but on gaining real, practical knowledge.

🧭 My Advice to Anyone Feeling Lost

If you're feeling directionless or overwhelmed, try this:

Cut down distractions—even just a little

Take a moment to observe your life from someone else’s POV

Ask yourself: If I had to advise “me,” what would I say?

It helped me. Maybe it’ll help you too.

I’ll be sharing my learnings and thoughts about Linux and related technologies here as I grow.

Thanks for reading till the end.

– Sahil Sharma