I got a lot of good responses on my pursuit of purpose post. Let me just say that I completely agree with the idea of doing just what makes you happy, and I have for a long time tried to live life in that way. That’s really what my last post was about, because I believe that living your purpose is a way to fill your life with happiness.
I do believe, however, that you have to do a little more thinking about where you want to go than just “doing what makes you happy.” I think you need to have a clear vision of what you want on many levels, today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, next year, next 5 years, next 30 years, next 50 years. I’m not saying that you’ll fulfill all of those visions, nor am I saying you need to sit down everyday for an hour and write all these things out, but I do believe a few hours a month thinking about where you are and where you want to go will make it easier for you to do two things:
1.)enjoy the present
2.)create your future
Ultimately for me it’s about just getting out there and doing things. I want to learn Spanish, I want to take cooking classes, I want to take piano lessons, I want to take improv classes..on and on on and on, and for me these things take on new importance in my recent search for a purpose. I haven’t quite nailed down a purpose that feels right yet, but I do know that maintaining my childlike curiosity, something that I definitely share with my mom, is extremely important to me and therefore these activities are much vital to my happiness. I guess a purpose helps to provide a frame and a priority checklist. Ultimately it is about having happy, yes, but it doesn’t hurt to think about what happy looks like.
A great quote someone sent me the other day:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
–Mark Twain