If you’re anything like me your life probably oscillates between boredom and stress, and it’s rare that you find that sweet spot in between where you’re doing just enough to keep you occupied but not so much that it’s stressing you out.
The one thing, though, that can help alleviate both of these states, is a sense of purpose in your life.
Once upon a time, purpose was handed to us on a silver platter. We had religion to tell us what life was all about.
These days, though, most of us are left up to our own devices…
What’s this life all about? What am I really here for?
Personally – I tend to agree with Picasso. What gives you true meaning in your life is finding what you’re really good at. Finding something that you can do particularly well, that uses all of your faculties and abilities to their maximum.
And then once you’ve found that – your purpose is to use that for the greater good, in a way that other people can enjoy or appreciate or benefit from.
In Picasso’s case, it was painting. Hundreds of millions of people have enjoyed his paintings. In mine, it’s creating businesses and writing fiction (another pasttime of mine).
What is it in yours?
Sometimes it’s not that easy to find. And in those cases, the best way is simply to follow your heart and do whatever it is that your intuition is telling you to do. And then once you’ve done it, to evaluate the results and decide whether or not it’s right for you. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. But even if it’s not, you’ve learnt something.
Another great way is to travel. Travelling opens your world up to so many different possibilities, to so many different variations of yourself, and at the same time it strips you back to the bare essentials – your wits and your backpack.
And it’s in this ascetic state that you can discover what’s really important to you, and what you’d like to do with the rest of your life to give it the most meaning possible.
Often a particular country will call to you – something about it will draw you in to learn more about it. Maybe it has something important to teach you, or just by being there you will become more yourself.
If that country is Spain or part of Latin America, then the best way to get the most from that experience is to learn as much Spanish as possible before you go.