Having worked with thousands of people facing career choices, and having made a few myself, below are a dozen of my guiding principles that may help with your career deliberations.

1. You don't have to make up your mind. Being certain sounds enviable, but it can also reflect a closed and inflexible mind. Beyond gravity, death and taxes, the rest is decidedly changeable. By all means be certain about what you do now or next, but remain open about what you might be doing then and beyond.

2. You don't have to have a clear passion. Telling people to follow their passion simply alienates those who have yet to find one, or for whom their passion is quite separate from any realistic way of earning a living. It is easy to mistake pleasure for passion, and to forget that passion really means suffering. To follow your passion is to be prepared to suffer for what you do.

3. You can surprise yourself. We are our No. 1 critics, and society generally encourages us to be modest about our talents. Nearly all of us (politicians aside) are better than we think we are. We are more capable, more resilient, more sensitive, more intelligent and more skilful than we dare to believe. Never let go of the fact that you are not just good enough, you belong with every other good and talented person on this planet.