Gift ideas for a 22 year old man who needs some motivation to figure out his path? 💗 he’s my secret Santa / family / i’m not sure if there is a delicate way to be actually helpful in this respect but I knew RL would know!

Question

amy hagedorn · Answer

would love more info! what's his swag? how does he need direction in yr view? WOULD LOVE to help but just wanna be actually helpful <3: thanks for coming to Dr. Stranger-on-Rec-League, it's my honor to think through life with you (pic of me in a middle school play unrelated)

Jess · Answer

The gift of prototyping: If you want to give a great gift, but you aren't entirely sure what will work for the other person, you can give the gift of prototyping!

Pick several small, cheap options for your gift for them to test. (Think samplers, travel sizes, or dupes.) Once they've tried all the options, let them tell you all about what they thought. Then use that information to get them the full version that's best for them.

Bonus points for any of the following:
- Add photos of the final gifts you're considering
- Choose an entirely unreasonable number of prototypes to create a sense of abundance
- Include a pretty notebook for them to record their thoughts
- Invite them to a coffee date to hear about their testing
- Offer to recycle or repurpose any unwanted prototypes for them

Dawson White · Answer

Masterclass gift card: (Or something similar!) Do you happen to know their interests/strengths? Gifting them a specific class feels more, “I see you and affirm your interests!” than a general Masterclass gift card which could feel, “You gotta figure your 💩 out,” in my opinion!

Laura Messersmith · Answer

Monk Manual - A Daily System for Being and Doing: My husband got me one of these a few years ago when I was feeling really stuck - I didn’t love my career at the time, but was hesitant about making a change.

I’ve never been a regular journal-er so the quick list, question prompt format worked well for me to collect my thoughts in a consistent way. I also liked the connection between long-term goals <-> immediate to-dos toward those goals.

This might be a nice gentle assist toward a thoughtful practice.

Full disclosure: there is an element of Faith, mentions of God as connected to Purpose in the opening pages so if that’s a tender subject at all then something to be aware of.