This article was written and published for my 2016 writing class.
Ever wonder why we were born in this
world, the same routines repeated over and over again, and we find ourselves in
a maddening boredom? It is probably because we do not have a purpose in life,
and rather reaching for short term goals. We could not choose to be born in
this world, but we can choose how to live this life of ours. For sometimes the
melancholy struck in the middle of the night, and makes us wonder why we were born in the first place. This phenomenon happens
mostly for people who are going through ‘young adult’ phase; for those who try
to find a place in this enormous world. When the time we feel like we have no
idea of this life, to search and to have purposes is the basic way to make our
way to the future. Why and how? In this guidance essay, there are three basic
elaborations of the importance of having life’s purposes: to not take anything for granted, to
know our worth as an individual, and to end our life meaningfully.
First
thing first, we cannot take everything for granted. Quoting Mark Manson on his
article, 7 Strange Questions That Help You
Find Your Life Purpose (2014), “When
People say, ‘What
Should I do with my life?’
or ‘What is my life purpose?’ what they are actually asking is: ‘What can I do with my time that is
important?’”
The time that we were born, is the time that we have purposes, indirectly. We
can reflect by looking back how our parents raised us and take nothing for
granted as well. It sounds like a burden, but that is how we live our life: not
only for the sake of ourselves, but also others. By this, we already get one
purpose in life: to be kind and useful for others, rather than being a sleazy
loser who rants about every little thing, start thinking to repay others’
kindness. Remembering that this world needs more kindness, and it is always
circulating in life, we may even start from our inner circles.
The
second thing is that we, as humans, have to be useful and contribute something
to society, by knowing our worth. The quote, “Everyone is a snowflake; which differs from one another” is
the most cliché thing, but everyone differs for a great reason. Imagine if
everyone a fisherman, there will be no
variety in the local food market, but when some people choose to develop a crab
farm and another people are
interested in oysters, for example, we can taste many things even in a seafood
market. In the bigger picture, we have to applicate what we can do, and study
to specialize it, and dedicate ourselves in that area. As what an anonymous
quote says, “When someone knows their worth, no one can make them feel
worthless”, is actually also helps us in being optimistic, and does better. It
is true that there will always be someone who is better than us, but there is
no wrong in helping others, because every good deeds leads to a change for a
better world.
Last
thing and most importantly, is that we have to work for our future. The time
slowly march us into the inevitable death, so we better have to give the best
out of us. Everyone expects a happy ending, admit it, but how can we be happy
without even trying? As Celestine Chua, stated in her article, Why Have a Life Purpose? 5 Reasons We Should
Have a Purpose, “Life purpose is the starting point of life”. To get rid of
daily-routines-boredom, we have to set goals. The most easy thing is to find
what we like and go for it, whether it is to be a rich and successful
career-oriented person, or to be successful emotionally with a marriage, go for
it. When we find that hope, take nothing for granted, and lose ourselves to it.
Still on the same article, Celestine Chua stated that clear daily action aims
for clear long-term goals and finally clear purpose. On the other hand, hazy
random daily actions tends to be hazy random goals and leads to hazy purpose or
no purpose at all. It is harder to actually find one, so we can start by doing
little things for better habits, which eventually leads to a good end.
To
sum up, to make our time counts, it can be started with realizing and doing
good things and deed, even from the smallest details around us. To take
everything kindly, to be useful, and to work for a better tomorrow; are the
basic things that we need to realize so that we can start living out of
boredom. When we finally live not only for today, but most importantly for the
future, Tom Thiss quotes that “Having a purpose is the difference between
making a living and making a life.”
References:
Chua, Celestine. (2014). Why Have a Life Purpose? 5 Reasons We Should Have a Purpose.
Retrieved from https://personalexcellence.co/blog/why-have-a-life-purpose/
Maisel, Eric. (2014). Do Humans Have A Need For Meaning and Life Purpose. Retrieved from www.innerself.com/content/personal/happiness-and-self-help/life-purpose/10063-existensial-maturity.html
Manson, Mark. (2014). 7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose. Retrieved
from https://markmanson.net/life-purpose
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