Turns out that this important question has been in my head for many many years but I have no answers even today. Sometimes I used to wonder – “Should you even have a purpose?” May be because I did not have one and was still doing fine. I do my work diligently, I get paid well enough, I have a loving family and friends. Should there be a purpose then? Everything looks fine right. At the same time, something feels a miss.
A lot of self reflection and I am still struggling to find answers. I thought one way to keep myself calm is to write this down somewhere. The last time I wrote about this topic was way back in 2011. Yup, about 8 years ago. Here is the link to that little blog (hardly a minute read) –
https://manojbitsian.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/career-destiny-purpose-of-life/
Here are the most important lines from there (corrected some grammar) –
“The best strategy is to keep yourself updated with the ongoing activities in the world, take up all the opportunities that come your way and give your 100%. Everything you do has a learning in it. Understand it, learn it. Slowly and steadily, you will know what you like and what you don’t, you will understand your strengths and weaknesses. In time, you will know what you have to do! You should take that up as your career, that is what you are destined to, and the ultimate purpose of life is to do what you love!”
Looking back, I think I tried to stick to this plan. I experimented.. took up multiple small projects in different domains, gave my best to (almost) everything I took up, and kept searching for the ultimate answer. And I don’t have an answer yet. Am I still motivated to go on and stick to the plan? Yes. I may have become a little complacent recently, but here I am again with reinforced “will“. To everything that is trying to stop me from searching, I am only going to say – “Not Today!” (Arya Stark here!)
I am a significantly better person when I compare myself to 2011. I have acquired many new skills all along. I feel more confident about myself. Some of the areas that I find very fulfilling – Teaching, Encouraging people to become better, New interactions, and Technology. I like to create an impact that I can sense and feel. In small pockets, the above areas helped me create some impact in people’s lives. I am still looking for an answer to the purpose question. I will find it one day. I am sure I will.
Some of you have known me for a lot a years and you can help me, btw, by sharing your feedback about what are the things I should focus on. May be I’ll discover something totally out of the box. May be. Share feedback!