This Thing Called Purpose...
What’s your purpose? Let me help you discover your purpose... Uhmmm! No! How about we get curious, low, down and dirty? Let's roll...
“What’s Your Purpose?”
That question has been echoing in my mind for quite some time now.
It all started back in 2021 when someone I knew posed this question to me.
Best believe when I was asked, I didn’t know.
Wanna know something funny? I still don’t know
Source: Giphy
Funny huh?
Hear me out…
A bit about me: I'm generally a laid-back, easygoing individual who doesn't always take life as seriously as I should. Yeah, basic definition of simple, right?
But, when confronted with the question of purpose, I found myself at a loss.
You see, I've never been one to follow the conventional path. The whole 'go to school, get a job, settle down' routine never quite appealed to me. And whenever I expressed this sentiment to my peers, I was met with raised eyebrows and puzzled looks.
I felt like an outsider for not conforming, and nobody seemed to grasp why I felt that way.
So, post-college, I ventured into my vocation, going across different industries, and searching for what felt ‘right.
Big fail.
Along came 2021, when this person asked me that question:
"NOJ, what is your purpose?"
For the first time, it struck a chord. I couldn't continue drifting through life without direction or so I told myself.
And so began my quest into the unknown,
I threw myself into work, into family obligations, into friendships—yet, I found no answer.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the journey but, I just couldn’t identify ‘My Purpose’.
I even turned to ChatGPT for guidance. However, it provided more confusion than clarity.
It was mentally exhausting, to say the least.
I did ask this question on Threads and one reply stuck out to me;
Do we constantly create it? Hmmm…
Then, it hit me: What if life isn't about finding and fulfilling some grand purpose? What if it's simply about living—to experience joy, to embrace every moment, to find happiness in the journey itself?
What if...
Oops! If you were waiting on me to help you discover your purpose, welp! I can’t help you here…Only thing I can tell you is, to know who you are, and maybe, just maybe you’ll discover what your purpose is.
I’d love to hear how you discovered or are discovering yours…
NOJ.
An interesting read. It got me thinking about what is a purpose. Are you made for it, or is it made for you; do you find it or does it find you? When? Where? How?
We know there is the biological need to procreate to carry on the race - for which we seem to need a lot less people contributing right now, so let's put that aside.
A purpose, why am I here, is, I believe, not a fixed goal. We have many goals - many purposes - many roles to play for both ourself and those around us.
Often it is only looking back we see where we have been and who we have affected. For good hopefully, but also for bad.
How many times has someone said to you, "you were just what I needed", or perhaps "I needed that"?
Now this may not fit what you perceive as a global over-arching purpose but perhaps the road to the ultimate goal is the accumulation of many smaller goals. A stone by itself is a stone, but when placed with many it becomes a palace for you to live in and love in - the palace is your purpose perhaps. This is the culmination of joy for your spirit and soul.
If I missed the point sorry, but I think a long journey always starts with one step, but it is the accumulation which gets you there - to your individual and unique purposed life.