Locking into Purpose

If you are the kind of person who is most strongly motivated by having some sort of purpose that goes beyond gaining immediate rewards and avoiding immediate punishments, whatever forms they may take for you, and is most called by something far away that is grander than that, you could become disoriented and shiftless unless you lock into a purpose that you can be aligned with and pushes you forward.

Sometimes we already are without realizing it, but other times we must reflect a bit to spot and hold it. It can be something lifelong, or to last a couple decades or so, maybe just a few years, or something to get you through the remaining months of this one. You could figure out what currently works for you so that you can be on track and fulfillingly so.

When something or someone comes along, promising or faking a future and you're hit with the reality that it won't be happening or that it can't be counted on, it can throw you off and leave you worse than you were prior to it. That's in part because it meddled with your concept of the future and therefore your purpose. You must then return to what was before or reach for more solid ambitions and aspirations.

You have the rest of your life ahead of you. Maybe you already have plenty going on to keep you occupied and just turning your focus back to it would do. But maybe there's room for more that would make your life better and more worth waking up every day for. It can be tangible and intangible aims. Like homemaking and personal growth, or what suits you (I'm still going for my intricate and elaborate alternate universes).

And remember, what success looks like is different for different people. You don't have to trade a life well lived for vainglory in things that ultimately make you or keep you empty and miserable. You can go for what makes you the best version of you.