Are you having trouble getting up in the morning? Do feel tired throughout the day? Is your coffee, Monster and 5-hour energy-fueled diet not energizing you like it used to?
Well my friend you have come to the right place.
There are times in our lives when we run out of fuel. There are times when it is a battle to get through the day. There are times when it is an act of courage to get out of bed in the morning.
This is completely normal.
The monotony of a 9-to-5 job without meaning is draining. The boredom of repetitively living the same day over and over quickly saps our energy levels.
As society becomes focused on instant gratification we find it increasingly more difficult to stay energized while performing recurring tasks. Consequently, we often look to external methods to re-fuel. We try something new a few times for fun and then we cast it away. We listen to a song 50 times on repeat and then we get sick of it. We buy IPhone after IPhone not because the trivial new features are worth the extra hundreds of dollars (that we don’t actually have), but because we get a jolt of energy from a new purchase that we can show off to our friends. We jump from relationship to relationship and lover to lover to spark our lives with excitement. As a result of our decreasing energy reserves, we fuel our lives with the novelty of new and temporary external pleasures.
However, there is a particular group of people that seem to rarely feel drained. There is a small subset of humans that seem to consistently have energy and drive everyday. There is a group that seems to stay fueled longer and more efficiently than the rest of us. It’s like they are Prii (plural for Prius) and we are 1970s station wagons.
For some reason they are able to work harder, accomplish more and live happier with the same amount of fuel. They are consistently energized without a reliance on external motivation.
What group am I talking about? Who are these people? What is their secret? How do we become more like them?
Well it is actually very simple. They don’t have special genes or talents. They aren’t smarter than you or stronger than you in any way. They aren’t drinking a super Red Bull or coffee with 10X the caffeine. You are just as capable as they are.
There’s only one thing that they do that you don’t:
They Follow Their Purpose
If you want to overcome the monotony of repetition and stay fueled throughout the day, you have to have a definiteness of purpose.
If you want to stay fueled and approach life with infinite energy, you must ask yourself every morning, “How am I going to fulfill my purpose today?”
Helen Keller once said, “Happiness is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
The big question you might have is, “Hey, Kevin what if I don’t know my purpose? What do I do now?”
Luckily, we are in a time in history unlike any other! There is literally an entire world of information at your fingertips. There are thousands of books on how to find your purpose. There are countless methods to help you find purpose and meaning in your life.
If you don’t know what your purpose is, keep looking. Take action and read a book about purpose. If that doesn’t work then read another. Type “How do I find my purpose” in Google and read the first 30 results.
There is an entire section here at Thrive Global dedicated to helping you find your purpose.
Once you find your purpose and start living your life according to it, fuel will come naturally. Daily motivation and energy will abundantly flow into your life.
In the meantime, you can find purpose in the little things. You can approach every situation and every person, whether it is the janitor or the CEO, as an opportunity to learn. You can approach each moment as a chance to grow and learn more about yourself, your life and your destiny.
Purpose and meaning are self-given. You can find meaning in a sunrise or a conversation with a friend. You can find meaning in a smile from a random lady at your favorite coffee shop.
If you give each moment purpose than your life will have purpose. If you give everyday tasks meaning then your life will have meaning.
When you begin to live your life with intention you will notice a few things:
1. Your productivity increases
2. Your desire to wake up in the morning increases
3. Your energy levels rise
More importantly, having a purpose mitigates the struggles in your daily life. Purposeful living acts as a buffer to the draining effects of negativity. As you re-focus, the events that used to be obstacles quickly become opportunities.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
If you want to re-fuel yourself everyday, don’t focus on what you’re eating or what coffee you are drinking. Focus on your purpose. Focus on why you are here.
When you are looking to the moon you don’t notice the dirt on the ground. When you are focused on fulfilling your destiny you don’t focus on your lack of energy or sleep. You don’t focus on what can hold you back. Instead, you focus on what can propel you forward.
Following your purpose is like having a Starbucks in your pocket.
When you feel tired, focus on your purpose and it will energize you. When you are low on energy, look for meaning and you will be fueled. When you are sitting at your desk at 3pm after lunch, remind yourself that you are here for a reason and you will feel a boost.
Once you create a habit of focusing on purpose and meaning in your life, your life will be fueled for action.
So dig deep, spend time alone and write down what is meaningful to you. It could be raising your family, smiling at strangers or bringing your best to every moment. It could be creating an entirely new civilization on a foreign planet.
If you don’t know your purpose now than make it your purpose to find your purpose.
Never stop looking for purpose because it is your dream to improve the world that will fuel you to live a fulfilled life.