by Jennifer Xue
In certain periods of our lives, we often feel like we don’t have any purpose. It’s normal to feel that way, especially after experiencing a traumatic life event like divorce or death in the family, or being stuck in the same condition for a while, such as working on the same job for years.
When you feel like you have no purpose, you’re actually comparing your current condition with what you expect to be or have. But you couldn’t see that “something” that makes waking up in the morning worthwhile.
Perhaps you had a purpose to be happily married, but then you were divorced. So you felt like you’ve lost that purpose. Perhaps you had a purpose to be the best in the workplace, but apparently you weren’t chosen for the promotion. So you felt like you’ve lost that purpose.
You didn’t realize that those (being happily married and getting a job promotion) aren’t life purposes, as your existence isn’t defined by them. They, undoubtedly, are parts of your existence that contribute to valuable learning lessons in life. You grow as a person when experiencing the happier and the darker sides of life, which is something to be grateful for.
The thing with discovering your purpose is that it’s not as simple as reading a book and finishing it. It’s not even as straightforward as going to school and obtaining a degree in psychology, humanities, business, engineering, medicine, or math.
It’s not that simple and that straightforward because discovering your purpose isn’t a linear effort.