One thing this pandemic has forced us to ponder upon is…ourselves. In this fast-paced world, we hardly have the time to sit and think about the questions we often avoid.
A lot of us are flowing along the natural current of life, bobbing, and floating along the river of reality. That might sound negative, but I believe it contains a certain bliss. I’ve often said that the best things in life are the simplest. But eventually you’re going to want more. You’ll want to know exactly what you are floating towards.
Finding your purpose can prove challenging. So where do you start looking?
Living for Yourself.
This is a title that sounds straight out of a cheesy self-help book. But this simple step can be complicated to master.
We have developed such a cookie cutter culture that it’s difficult to identify ourselves these days. After we graduate high school, we are told to ship ourselves off to a school we can’t afford and make a definitive choice on a future career.
I don’t know about you but asking an 18-year-old what they want to do for the rest of their lives is a daunting task. The truth is, you may not fully understand what exactly it is that you want your purpose to be. This fast-paced society tends to rush it along, prompting rash decisions that we aren’t always happy with later down the road.
My point is that you need to move at your own pace and avoid being pressured by social norms. Don’t listen to what people are telling you is a clear path to pursue. There is no singular path. You may even need to pursue paths that have dead ends, the point is to explore.
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Nietzsche
Search, but don’t Forget to Live.
The search for your purpose in life is a complex obstacle course full of ups and downs. In the maze of life there are often more than one path that leads you out of the maze. Searching for this path can be…distracting.
What I’m trying to get at is you need to make sure that you are focusing on living your life as well as searching for the meaning. If you spend all your time and energy rushing the process, you may miss out on the beautiful meanings and opportunities that have been in front of you the entire time.
For example, there are times I am franticly searching for my pen all over my desk in a rush to jot something down. Within my frantic search, if I had just slowed down and thought, I would have found it hanging from my collar. Now apply this to your life. You may be franticly searching for meaning everywhere accept where your attention truly needs to be.
Don’t lose yourself, while searching for yourself. It’s like studying for a test. If you study too much, your results often suffer. But if you study just enough, and give your noggin some space to breath, you do a much better job.
Continue to Learn and Try New Things.
Aside searching for your personal purpose in life, continuing to learn and experiencing new endeavors is healthy for the mind.
Maybe the reason you haven’t found your niche in life is because you haven’t attempted it yet! You need to continue to pursue anything and everything you might be even slightly interested in.
You can’t be afraid of failure, because part of life is learning how to fail with grace. It’s just something that’s going to happen. But the passion lies in how amped you are to get back on that horse and try it again.
Myself, I love playing music. But if I would have given up whenever something got challenging, I would have stopped playing music 20 years ago. Just because what you love doing can be challenging or frustrating doesn’t mean it’s the wrong choice.
The best things don’t come easy. They require patience and consistent attention. Your life’s purpose will be no different.
For some people, simply spreading happiness and positivity is their purpose in life, but you don’t think those people ever get tested? Or struggle in the realm of positive thoughts?
You can’t have the hustle with out the struggle.
Trust Your Instincts.
I feel like this is a bit overstated, but the truth behind it is undeniable.
Our minds will often dwell too far in comfort. But you need to learn to step out of that comfort zone.
Sometimes finding your purpose means creating your own path, and that can be terrifying. But it’s perfectly fine to be scared. In my opinion, fearing something means it’s exactly what you need to be doing.
Learn to trust yourself. Don’t let that fear set you back to the same old thing you’ve been doing for years. Especially because most of the time, you need to step into that void of uncertainty to uncover your true valor.
“The two most important days in life are the day you born and the day you discover the reason why.” – Mark Twain
Wrap This Up.
I wish you the best of luck on the personal voyage you are embarking on, and truly hope you find what you’re looking for. But with that, don’t forget to live, be happy, and enjoy the company of good friends and loved ones can provide.
Sometimes the purpose is simple, just be happy and enjoy your time.