From an early age Ligaya Sanchez-Wilson knew she was a problem solver but when it came time to find a career, she struggled.

Medicine was her first choice. She did a pre-med degree and was accepted into medical school before she realised it was not a good fit.

“I was seeking out something that was more aligned with what really drives me,” said Ms Sanchez-Wilson, who ultimately swapped medical school for law.

“I got the problem-solving component but medicine, science, is a bit black and white. Law gives me that creative element to express myself differently.”

She believes that people would enjoy their lives more if they examined their own interests before setting off in pursuit of “societal measures of success and self-fulfillment”.

Ms Sanchez-Wilson laid it all out last month in a PechaKucha talk, A Tale of Two Whys.

Her presentation followed two people on a career path. One chose a job, the other focused on things that made them happy. Both worked hard and climbed the corporate ladder.

“[The first one] found themselves not motivated and lacking inspiration and not really grasping the happiness that they thought would be associated with those milestones,” Ms Sanchez-Wilson said.

“My whole point was that oftentimes we won't associate happiness with what society tells us should bring us happiness and sometimes we need to look at success from a different perspective and really incorporate things that make us feel good inside, not necessarily the stereotypical milestones that are associated with success.”

She figured out her path while facing the challenges that come with having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

“I was diagnosed with ADHD well into my adulthood and it's something that I'm very vocal about because there are so many people that kind of suffer from the same struggles. But it's not really acknowledged that that struggle exists for an adult and that kind of leads to people masking what they're actually experiencing.

“I did my pre-med degree and then got to medical school and just realised I couldn't cope any more. I couldn't survive that rigidity of standardised testing and just the sheer amount of information that you have to be able to sit down and focus and memorise. So I actually ended up dropping out of medical school [although] I managed to sit board exams to qualify as a biomedical scientist, which in and of itself was quite challenging.”

Medication and talk therapy gave the focus she needed for her career but she believes what also helped was that she had defined her “why” fairly early on. Beyond problem solving, Ms Sanchez-Wilson discovered she enjoyed finding solutions that positively impacted other people’s lives.

“For me, it's more exploration of what really drives you and then somehow finding a way to incorporate that in most of the things that you do every day. Obviously, bills need to be paid and there are work responsibilities that need to be met and so a big component is trying to incorporate that into an actual profession.

“What I discovered was when you feel most inspired or most driven, more than likely you’re exhibiting your most authentic self. And really the only way to find that inspiration and have that feeling is to try new things and keep trying new things until you find the things that make you feel most alive and then run with those things. It's in those moments that you will be you and that would be the first step in finding what your why is.”

Many people find it easier to follow goals set by others. Ms Sanchez-Wilson does not think that is necessarily wrong.

“I think it's good to have some sort of measuring stick but my whole message was about changing your perspective on who dictates what that measuring stick is and what that means for you specifically,” she said.

“Each of us has different passions and different drives and, much like standardised testing, societal measures of success are quite rigid and structured. So take that structure and make it more flexible for what you want your life to be – what really brings you joy and happiness. I know that if you don't quite meet society's standards for success it doesn't necessarily mean that you're a failure. You have to be able to define your own version of that success.”

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