Photo Credit: Unsplash / Jamie Street
“Living with purpose doesn’t have to be a lofty dream of- I-save-earth and it can. ”
Have you heard of Mark Manson? He is the author of “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k” and he created these “7 Strange Questions on how to Find your Life’s purpose”. I’ve not read the book yet but I discovered him when I did an inquiry on one of those questions, as part of my Baptiste Yoga Methodology work on Drishti.
“Drishti: What do you need to put attention on?”
Mark Manson says this:
Here’s the truth. We exist on this earth for some undetermined period of time. During that time we do things. Some of these things are important. Some of them are unimportant. And those important things give our lives meaning and happiness. The unimportant ones basically just kill time.
So when people say, “What should I do with my life?” or “What is my life purpose?” what they’re actually asking is: “What can I do with my time that is important?”
“Put your attention on doing things that is important to you.”
Why do you need to know life’s purpose?
So… you do things that is important to you.
Makes sense right?
Or would you rather do things that is not important, that has no meaning, living life doing the same things - day in day out - over and over again?
You can.
It’s safe.
Bu at what costs?
You have to acknowledge that where you are, the comfort zone is just an armor - hiding the fears and the not-good-enoughs.
“Where in your life have you lost focus? or balance? What do you need to put your Drishti on?”
I thought I was happy in my comfort zone, but really I wasn’t. I always have this sense of - “Can I do more? What can I do? What should I do? I want to do something? What else is there?”
What am I afraid of?
What lies beyond the comfort zone is endless possibilities of Love, Hope, Joy. There’s also the possibility of failure, yet if you don’t step off the edge, how would you learn? How would you grow?
What lies beyond my comfort zone is doing things that is important to me and that I’m passionate about. I can say yes when I really want to say yes, and find the courage to say no when I need to say no. I want to be a contribution. I want to make a difference. I want to empower others to live a kind and courageous life.
“Find your life’s purpose by doing things that are important to you. ”
Are you ready to find your life’s purpose?
Try answering Mark’s 7 Strange Questions below.
Why not, since you’re already here.
Don’t think too much.
If you get inspired to do something important after, go do it. And you don’t have to.
It’s okay if nothing comes up for you, just be with it.
7 STRANGE QUESTIONS THAT HELP YOU FIND YOUR LIFE PURPOSE
1. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF SHIT SANDWICH AND DOES IT COME WITH AN OLIVE?
Your favorite shit sandwich is your competitive advantage. By definition, anything that you’re willing to do (that you enjoy doing) that most people are not willing to do gives you a huge leg-up.
2. WHAT IS TRUE ABOUT YOU TODAY THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR 8-YEAR-OLD SELF CRY?
We all have a tendency to lose touch with what we loved as a child. Something about the social pressures of adolescence and professional pressures of young adulthood squeezes the passion out of us. We’re taught that the only reason to do something is if we’re somehow rewarded for it. And the transactional nature of the world inevitably stifles us and makes us feel lost or stuck.
3. WHAT MAKES YOU FORGET TO EAT AND POOP?
We’ve all had that experience where we get so wrapped up in something that minutes turn into hours and hours turn into “Holy crap, I forgot to have dinner.”
4. HOW CAN YOU BETTER EMBARRASS YOURSELF?
Before you are able to be good at something and do something important, you must first suck at something and have no clue what you’re doing.
5. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD?
Find a problem you care about and start solving it. Obviously, you’re not going to fix the world’s problems by yourself. But you can contribute and make a difference. And that feeling of making a difference is ultimately what’s most important for your own happiness and fulfillment. And importance equals purpose.
6. GUN TO YOUR HEAD, IF YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE HOUSE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
For many of us, the enemy is just old-fashioned complacency. We get into our routines. We distract ourselves. The couch is comfortable. The Doritos are cheesy. And nothing new happens.
This is a problem.
7. IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO DIE ONE YEAR FROM TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND HOW WOULD YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?
Most of us don’t like thinking about death. It freaks us out. But thinking about our own death surprisingly has a lot of practical advantages. One of those advantages is that it forces us to zero in on what’s actually important in our lives and what’s just frivolous and distracting.
Read Mark's full post to get a clearer idea of his intentions behind the 7 Strange questions.
Your life purpose doesn’t have to be a lofty dream of- I-save-earth and it can.
It can be what you want it to be.
It’s your legacy.
Take this as an opportunity to discover what your life is for, where you want your drishti to be.
It’ll become clear.
“Do things that matter to you. Do things that you are passionate about.”