“When a person can’t find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.” – Viktor E. Frankl
When we think about our existence through a bird’s-eye view, it’s rather difficult to pinpoint a universal purpose to us being here.
With no predefined reason to explain our role on this planet, many of us resort to vices like alcohol, video games, etc. to fill the empty void.
At least for me, there was a positive correlation between my levels of nihilism and my dependency on these things in the past.
Discussing topics like this is scary because nobody really knows the correct answer when it comes to what the meaning of life is. One will get different answers from different people, and it’s ultimately up to the individual to determine what the answer is for them.
Our ancestors didn’t have the luxury of contemplating the purpose of their existence, as they were too busy living in survival mode.
Now, instead of trying to hunt that lion or defend against rival tribes, we binge watch Netflix and enjoy the fruits of Amazon Prime.
At least in the United States, it’s much easier to survive now compared to the times we’ve evolved from. As a result, we have a lot more free time on our hands.
If one were to break down the structure of a typical person’s day in a first world country, it can be segmented into three categories: Leisure, Errands, and Work / School.
The problem in this era is that there are too many distractions out there that eat up our leisure time.
Sure, it’s not a crime to get a dopamine rush from Instagram or to be entertained on TikTok, but if this is all that you’re doing outside of your job then something needs to change. The reason for why this is so is because your sense of purpose will be derived strictly from your work.
Now although there are a lucky number of individuals who are truly passionate about their jobs, the other 99.9% aren’t in the same boat.
At the end of the day, it’s just a job.
It’s not an enjoyable thing to do, as it’s called “work” for a reason. You do it because you need to pay your bills and you need to put food on the table.
I don’t know about you, but deriving my existence in the universe from the number of PowerPoints I make isn’t appealing to me. So what this means is that we need to figure out what our purpose in life is outside of our work.
Studies have proven that doing things that help others will lead to more feelings of happiness. So when it comes to discovering your purpose, it’s in your best interest to be aligned to something outside of yourself that adds value to the lives of others.
It could be advocacy, earning to give, creative work, coaching / mentoring in some niche, whatever you think you can excel at.
Because at the end of the day, we live in a competitive world. If you want to be recognized for something outside of our educational and corporate systems, you need to be the best at that something.
There’s no need to rush the process because, if you follow your inclinations, they will lead you down the correct path.
New discoveries will be made about yourself and the world around you, and you’ll be able to put the puzzle pieces together in order to live a purposeful life.
But hey, maybe you just want to raise a family.
Maybe you’re religious and already know your purpose.
Maybe you think there’s no purpose to anything so why even try at all?
There’s no right or wrong way to go about defining what’s meaningful to you.
As long as you have a higher cause, you’ll live each day with a mission in mind, and this is all that’s required to live with purpose.
JL