How to Find Purpose

The world today is a very purpose-less place to live and act in. We may interact with our families, commit to our jobs and do whatever we like to do in our free time. We do all of this with little to no concern about the meaning of it all: the routine, the activities we dedicate large portions of our lives to, and so forth. This can lead to the irony of feeling inner emptiness despite all the material prosperity most of us live in and consume on a regular basis. Many of us, for instance, go to work knowing how things need to be done, but not why they should be done, usually not far beyond the fact of generating revenue required to pay our bills.

Because the topic of purpose is largely absent in our daily lives, and we don't learn enough about its importance in school, we are left with three options, one of which is absolute and unfortunate. We can either find an external framework to provide us with the purpose we lack yet seek, create our own purpose in life through self-knowledge and contemplation, or take away one's life.

Unfortunately, most people either choose to end it all or, at least, find the purpose they so crave in a community different than theirs, such as religions, cults, friends, and spouses.

I believe that the best way to find purpose in life is to create our own. This can be done through self-knowledge and contemplation, and by asking ourselves the big questions about life, the universe, and everything. It can also be done by trying new things, exploring different interests, and meeting new people. When we find something that we are passionate about, it gives us a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

If you are struggling to find purpose in your life, I encourage you to explore your options. There are many different ways to find purpose, and it is up to you to find what works best for you.

The problem with the third option, AKA self-sacrifice, is that it doesn't solve anything in life itself. It only ends life, not the problem which bothers one's within the living. Shooting yourself while doing a test, for example, will not get you an A+ on said test. It is the ultimate form of escapism that solves nothing but one's suffering, and at the same time causes avoidable grief to those who are dear to the self-victim. Therefore, this solution should not be considered as the wisest, most productive solution to the problem of internal void in one's life.

The first option, of external purpose-seeking, mostly done through socializing with others, can be all well and good when the chosen framework is not harmful or dangerous in any way to the purpose-seeker. Religions and sects/cults, while can bring much happiness to one's life, some of them could bring more harm than good eventually, especially when the group at hand is either small or secretive, which then could be considered a cult, and be considered as such, when it's too late. Hence why whenever you're looking for an external purpose-giving, you could put your life at risk without even knowing it at the time, as did many of Jim Jones' followers when they initially joined him; no one expected to end up in a collective self-sacrifice in a remote South American country.

Therefore, putting aside the issue of whether that framework's ideology is true or false, becoming a part of something greater than you can be beneficial to both you and others or harmful, depending on that framework's set of actions and its possible fate. Additionally, you should take into account that some of these frameworks may try to limit you in the name of their faith/goals. Thus, by choosing an external leader, not only you can put yourself at risk (unless there is practically no risk at all specifically), but also limit your own individual freedoms in the name of being a part of the herd mentality.

The final way to attain purpose is harder than the convenient way of letting others feed it to you; attaining purpose mostly or purely by yourself is something that requires persistence, mental resilience, and most importantly, the ability to be alone for long periods of time. You might have been taught by socialization that doing nothing and just thinking is either unproductive or a waste of time, but the thing is, if you do not dedicate enough time to be, so to speak, your own "acquaintance", and get to know yourself better like any other person, attaining purpose in this world will not be an easy quest.

It's safe to assume that most of those who do not dedicate this time to be by themselves, with minimal stimulation as possible, waste away their years, wandering across the world, searching for something that can be found within? What is that something, you may ask? That something is simply yourself, beyond the frames of the External World. the self as something that exists as itself, and not as a relation to something else, to dictate it; the self that is distinguishable as a single entity.

With that closely-pure self, you can eventually know better in this world, what does fit you best, and what is best avoided, without necessarily having to experience it. Once the self is attained through meeting it in private and listening to it, life can become clearer, more understandable, in relation to yourself, without the former relations hindering you from doing so.

For a large portion of my life, I had no idea I was going to be a philosopher. It was only by coincidence that I ever encountered the term "philosophy," when I was asked in elementary school the question, "What is philosophy?" I always liked to be by myself and just think about things, but I never had a word for it beyond "being alone."

It was only much later in life that I realized, through solitude, that perhaps philosophizing is the way for me in life, and perhaps if I wasn't alone enough, thinking about my place in the world, I would not be a philosopher today. This is just a personal example of how the art of solitude has helped me become a more purpose-driven man, who for much of his life felt empty in meaning, despite the material prosperity I was in.

Perhaps my example can help you, too, understand the importance of being alone as an opportunity to get to know yourself better, and to reach a conclusion regarding your purpose in life. As I wrote before, one should remember that purpose doesn't have to be absolute, meaning that it doesn't have to exist for the entirety of one's life. It's perfectly fine to find multiple meanings, which sometimes even exist within one another. Remember that life is a drawing board and you are the artist, and when other artists try to paint beyond their territories, push them back and fight for your freedom to choose, your freedom to discover, and your freedom to create.