PICK ONE BATTLE.

Modern life in America is easier than it has ever been. Simple fact. On a basic level, food is overly abundant and generally affordable. Clean water runs from pipes everywhere. Transportation is accessible by way of personal vehicles, public transit, affordable bicycles, etc.. Public sanitation is adequate in most cities. Information technology has enabled mobility, merchandising, networking on a hand-held device. I could go on.

If anyone in America desires work over poverty, they can find it. In fact, the demand for manual labor, doing basic domestic and commercial services, is probably higher than it has been previously. This is due in part to the decrease in public vocational education. It is also due to the shift in corporate employment away from the manual labor sector. An able young American can easily start a small business doing landscaping, house painting, window cleaning, home catering, etc.. 

The down side of the current relative affluence of young Americans is their lack of direction. 

The open expanse of individual opportunity afforded by modern technology and education can become a confusing wasteland without some sense of personal mission. That sense of personal mission comes from honestly assessing individual interests, motivation and talents. If a person is shallow and materialistic, getting over the hurdle of those characteristics can prevent any development of a personal mission beyond obsessing on looks, accumulating toys and having fun.

So, a young materialist might say, why bother? The answer is simple: Picking one battle against one addiction, one personal flaw or one social illness, can change a life of mindlessness to a life of consciousness. That is simply choosing to live an intentional life over being a conformist zombie.

Physical wellness is often the first battle in the transition from zombie to conscientious human being. The obesity epidemic makes this a common hurdle. The individual who chooses to get control of the body takes the first step to getting control of the mind. And what a battle that can be!

Whether it is obesity or alcohol abuse, fighting the battle against biological urges goes very deep. It is very hard and a very long struggle for most people. But it opens the mind in ways that cannot be understated. The recovering body is forced to enlist the brain's resources at the deepest levels. An understanding of individual genetics and conditioning can lead a person through very dark places before that individual can surface to a better place. It can feel like internal war.

Winning one chosen battle in life is a gateway to a continued lifetime of picking other battles worth fighting. And finding like-minded comrades along the way is just one of many rewards. 

My first chosen battle was a struggle to break free of my working class environment when I was 12. I was expected to go from a mediocre Catholic grammar school to an equally mediocre Catholic high school near my home. I already knew I was homosexual. I also knew, thanks to my worldly grandfather who had died the previous year, that the world could be a more refined and interesting place for someone who sought that out.

It was 1962. I managed somehow to secure information on an entrance exam to a Jesuit prep school on the other side of metro Boston. My parents were annoyed, but I managed to convince them to support my application. This included driving me to the exam. I was told that ride would be my last. From then on I made the 90-minute commute in each direction on public transit. 

I managed to score well enough in the exam to get in. I was also given a scholarship, based on the relatively low-income status of my parents. The battle continued when I realized I had been placed in the tenth, and lowest, form of my class. More than one Jesuit cringed at my local accent. The rich boys outnumbered boys like me ten to one. They wouldn't associate with me, despite my high academic performance.

I went on to college with full scholarship after three years at prep school. I was 16. The following year I picked another battle. I was forty pounds overweight. This battle, against my own bad habits and metabolism, was harder by far than any academic struggle for me. But I persisted and lost the weight. Immediately, my popularity soared. I had friends of all kinds. I was invited to parties. I traveled with the college band, even though I am totally unmusical. 

The challenges in my life became more and more approachable. I battled each one as best I could. Each conquest or defeat brought with it some awareness of my own being. Each battle increased my sense of living with eyes open in the world. Being homosexual, being visually impaired, being shy, being perfectionistic, being vulnerable, being optimistic, being nurturing ... all these aspects of who I am became less singularly important. Being as I wished to be as a whole and ethical person became most important.

So, I suggest you start by picking one battle, if you are feeling adrift. The rest will develop with success or failure. You will not regret it.