No doubt, humans need to move towards something.
Without a destination to trek across our own lifespans, we become gooey blobs of waste– floating around and filling our days with vice and empty pleasure.
Purpose is often prescribed.
The Simon Sinek “Why” of your life (basically, if you know your why for doing what you do, life yields to you).
Let me be fair– false purpose is a thing. Pursuing something you think is your calling (like money and fame) to satisfy ego shouldn’t be confused with genuine destiny.
But back to why I think purpose is overrated and at the same time– floating through life is also gross.
I missed opportunities to grow and evolve thinking about purpose.
About that purposeful energy so many books recommend you absorb? I was born with it, and a lot of it.
Maybe thats unusual.
But I’d go through schooling with ultra binary thinking.
Say I had crush, if you aren’t somehow related to what I thought my destiny was at the time, I didn’t waste time with you.
I couldn’t see the point.
I did this with everything.
If something didn’t lead to what I believed to be my purpose at the time (which was just a vague idea of greatness) I cut you out.
This, as you can imagine, subtracted most life experiences, and no I didn’t care. To me, it was worth it because I thought it’d lead to said greatness.
But then something happened.
I was about to graduate and before I did, as a way of saying goodbye, I let go of the idea of purpose for my final year.
And the result? I had the best year of my life.
I made tons of connections, was in a constant state of play, did fun shit, and created with friends every single day.
For the first time in my life, I was fulfilled and the inside emptiness was gone.
But I was still purposeful in mind and even though that was the absolute best year of my life, as soon as the expiration date came and I graduated– I left it cold, to go me– the false chosen one.
All to return to “purpose.”
AND WHEN I FINALLY DID, what happened?
Depression. Isolation. And funny enough? No phucking purpose, loser.
Whatever your unique calling is, you reach it through a state of play and openness, not some all too serious disciplined soldier who can’t lighten up.
Your answer is different from mine, no doubt.
But the pattern I noticed is the tighter we squeeze onto “purpose” or whatever you think you need– the less likely you are to ever reach it.
There is a letting go factor life rewards.
Instead of purpose, focus on process. Maximize your day with shit you enjoy doing, learning, and experiencing.
This will throw you years ahead.
And eventually, you’ll discover it.
#FoolFwd
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