If you’re like me, you have devoured many books, films, podcasts, and other resources to find the purpose of your life. For me, it’s been a long struggle, brainstorming sessions going no where, watching inspirational videos and hoping for a miracle, waiting for that spark to happen. You know what I’m talking about, that unhappiness, which lingers around you, telling you you’re worth nothing. And you wonder ‘only if I knew what I was supposed to do, I would be successful, I would contribute to the world, I would be of value.’
So what can you do? How can you really find the purpose of your life?
“What you seek is seeking you.”
Rumi said that. The things you desire are seeking you in the same way you are seeking them. That’s why they appear in your imagination. You don’t need to read yet another book on how to find your purpose in life, or listen to yet another podcast about what is the meaning of life. What you need to do is stop thinking about the future or the past,and live in the present moment. When you’re present, you see things, you hear things, you get ideas. These ideas take you to places of your imagination. Don’t limit yourself, let your imagination grow, let it go to unimaginable places, to portals of creativity, to magical lands. Dream big. What you give to the world, no one else can. When something sparks your interest, follow it. Play with it, make something out of it, and then share it with the world.
Dream Big
There are times when your imagination shows you something remarkable, but you hesitate, you doubt in your ability to achieve that, you question the authenticity of this imagination. And then you let it go, forever. This is why some people always stay at the same place, they never grow, they never live life to the fullest. You need to hold your imagination by the horns and ride it to its true destination. But first you need to know where you are going. What is your big dream?
Recently I wrote about an exercise introduced by Debbie Millman, who has helped many people create magical lives – lives they truly desired.
Take out a notebook and a pen, and follow this:
Let’s say it’s spring 2030 (10 years from now). “What does your life look like? What are you doing? Where are you living? Who are you living with? Do you have pets? What kind of house do you live in? Is it an apartment? Are you in a city? Or in the country? What does your furniture look like? What kind of clothes do you wear? What kind of hair do you have?
This one day in the summer of 2030. What does your whole day look like? Start from the minute you wake up, brush your teeth, have your coffee or tea, all the way through to till you tuck yourself in bed at night. What is that day like for you?” Dream without any fear. Write it all down. You don’t have to share it with anyone, other than yourself. Put your whole heart into it. And write like there’s no tomorrow. Like your life depends on it, because it does.
Act Small
It’s time to plan. Now that you have a vision, a dream of where you are going, you need to figure out how to get there.
Remember, the most important thing is to believe in your self, in your imagination, and take action to turn your big dream into reality.
Look at the people who are where you want to be. Ask them how they got there. Read autobiographies of people that you admire. You will notice that they all share similar qualities, they think big, believe in themselves, and take action.
Start Now
Now that you have a plan, you need to break it down into smaller goals. Having a big dream and a plan to make that dream come true is not enough. You need to do something now in order to get the ball rolling. Like how Gary Keller says, “what’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything is either easier or unnecessary?”
There is no need to wait. I’m sure there is something you can do now, which will help you get to where you want to be. And if you still don’t know where you want to go, then do the exercise I mentioned earlier.
Dream Big. Act Small. Start Now.