On finding purpose
I’ve searched for my life’s purpose with the same vigor as storybook characters have searched for the holy grail. I’ve read self-help books, stuffy psychology theories, and the ramblings of philosophical giants. I’ve read blogs from people who have supposedly found it, and it would only cost me $250 for them to show me how. (sigh)
It's been an exhausting search.
I’ve always been fascinated by people who found their calling early in life. They knew at a very young age what they wanted out of life, and no one could steer them off course. No wasted years of self-doubt or agonizing over the right path.
But maybe, like love, there is no one ultimate purpose. Maybe we have many purposes. Many loves.
Another equation that compounds the problem is the notion of making money from my life purpose/passion. In an age of serial entrepreneurs, if you’re not working for yourself, you’re doing it all wrong.
I realize finding your passion is an outdated concept that we are slowly letting go of, but it still makes me sad that I can’t, once and for all, tease apart what I’m meant to do with my time on this planet. I feel like I’m wasting my life somehow. I’m sorry if you started reading this post hoping for some prescriptive wisdom…but clearly, I still don’t have answers! Writing about it just helps me marshal my thoughts and allows me to view things from different angles.
I came across Emilie Wapnick’s website, and she talks a lot about this topic. (Yes, she has a course). Is this what I’ve been searching for? I don’t know, but it’s worth checking out.
I like this quote from George Bernard Shaw:
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.