Purpose of life made clear
Given my interest in everything philosophy, psychology, and general life experiences, I’ve often wondered about the purpose of life. I’ve dabbled with finding the answer based on the phase of my life I’m in. Given the complex and the uncertain world that we live in, it can often confuse people to find out what their anchor in life is. Surely, it can’t be just making money. Or surely it can’t be just about getting married and having kids. These are the whats of life or the hows, but what is the why? What is our why?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve challenged the notion that life is just about going through the day to day activities or what some people might call it drudgery. There’s gotta be more. How do you give meaning to your existence otherwise and make some meaning out of it.
Given the society we live in, we are often told that the goal of our life is to help others, to be of service to others. We are often given the dole that we ought to be selfless. On the other hand, the western concept of individualisation and capitalisation, mentions that the goal of being is to be the best version of myself, which translates to being super productive, super efficient, super healthy — everything super.
When we look at each of these goals individually, they can be dangerous — while on one hand, being of service to others without an anchor, could just mean that we do what others ask us to do, become people pleaser, and lose our voice and our advocacy. On the other hand, becoming the best version of ourselves could mean becoming selfish, manipulative, and downright capitalist in which we end up losing our morals, ethics in the pursuit of making money or being successful.
I realised that the goal of the life really is to be the best version of ourselves in order to contribute to the society, others, and our work.
This realisation makes everything seem very simple and magical — this realisation almost compels you to think what is it that you’re good at, what are the qualities that you’ve been blessed with which the world can benefit from and which makes you whole, complete, and gives the best expression to your individuality. The way of looking at the life’s goal compels you to leave the comfort of your daily life to think what is it that you can pursue which brings out the best version of you, brings out your individuality, so that not only do you excel as an individual but also bring meaning to your family, work, and relationships.
The realisation of this truth makes life worth living and aspiring for and really takes you out of the shambles of asking existential questions about life and really start living. It helps you see the reality as is and take constructive steps to achieve your goals. The acceptance of this goal also helps you accept your past, live in your present, and plan for a future of which you can take complete ownership of.
