Human beings are placed in two categories whilst roaming the earth during their lifespan. They are either pleasure-seekers trying to chase one high to the next. Or, the lucky ones end up finding purpose and live happily ever after.
It seems simple when it’s summed up like that, but people are more complicated than the description above.
Let me break it down for you…
Pleasure seekers: Always need to be happy, avoid problems, never seem happy or satisfied with life, constantly seem restless, feel a sense of entitlement
Purpose seekers: find a meaning bigger than adversity, can handle the pressure from the task, have a reason to get out of bed, take full responsibility and value their time by doing what they love to do
Quick History Lesson
It seems that the early 20th-century conventional self-help advice is outdated, with books like ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill and ‘As a man thinketh’ by James Allen telling you that your thoughts and desires somehow manifest your reality from thin air. Not to mention the new positive age rubbish has bred a generation of delusion. Our emotions play a key role in life, and when combined with false bulsh*t, it makes us feel like we are bashing our head against the wall, which can hurt you, especially with your mental health.
Therefore, a large proportion of the self-help industry creates a false sense of entitlement, leading to nothing but the ‘g’ word; GREED. Reinforming the idea that you should have the big house, you deserve the fancy sports car, and you’re worthy of having a picture-perfect spouse.
If you don’t get what you desire, it’s your fault because you’re not thinking positive enough or having happy thoughts. Nice to know that I am the problem, not the people giving the advice.
The ancient philosophers and great thinkers of the past rooted the idea to stay away from desires that kept us off track towards our purpose. Lack of discipline makes us want to be rock stars living by the motto of ‘sex, drugs and rock n roll ‘instead of dealing with the problem, as it’s easier to avoid or numb the pain.
Validation holds power
Everyone wants to go through life with some type of validation that they are doing something of value with their time. That could be raising a family, getting a worthy career, making a lot of money, or helping to feed the homeless etc. We go through life asking ourselves questions like; am I fulfilling my destiny? Is my job purposeful? Am I successful by society standards?
We link happiness to success, and we compare ourselves to other people and their achievements.
So, what is a good purpose?
Having a good purpose is about having a worthy cause that respects good ethics (good behaviour) and high morals to either help solve a problem or focus on positive change.
On the flip side, you have people that justify success by targeting the vulnerable such as scammer and fraudsters that pocket money to validate their own sense of success.
Once you have a purpose with a meaningful cause, you can then develop strong personal values to help steer the emotions. And hey presto, you have empowered choices.
Pleasures lead to insecurity, dissatisfaction, and a constant battle in life to take shortcuts by placing time and energy into an unworthy cause. Ever heard of ‘trouble in paradise’? Or ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’?
Whereas worthy purpose gives us a sense of duty, makes us overcome hardship, and builds emotional resilience. We remain intrinsically motivated, fresh, alive, young, creative, joyous, peaceful, and happy.
Nikey Slogan
I came across a Nike slogan that said, ‘there is no finish line’. This concept was developed and wrote by the Existential philosopher Albert Camus ‘The myth of Sisyphus’.
I suppose we are always trying to find the end goal to discover everlasting fairy-tale happiness, for example, getting married, getting the ideal job, seeking early retirement. Most go with the narrative that only when I get X then I will be happy, or when I finally achieve Y, then my troubles will vanish.
The real purpose is a constant in life with milestones, challenges, curveballs, blind spots, and wonderful joys. Happiness is the by-product of purpose if you enjoy the adventure, the climb, pushing past the pain and loving the process.
So, what is this super-philosopher trying to say?
Sorry for talking about myself in third person. I was trying to sound all important.
It’s simple. Desire less, find a worthy cause and spend most of your time doing something meaningful as a lifelong process.
Peace out, see you in the next blog…