Your Purpose in Life

[EuroTroll]

I find myself at a sort of cross-roads. After having wasted a number of years on "wine, women and amateur dramatics" (in a manner of speaking), I want to start doing something meaningful in life.

How else to start the quest than struggling with the most basic question - what is my purpose? What pursuit is it that would be meaningful for me?

I don't believe in any God-given or mystical purpose - the purpose I'm looking for is really just a very deep wish that, I'm convinced, lodges itself in some dark corner of my sub-conscious mind. The wish to become - (blank). The question is - how do I get this wish to surface?

Have you been through this yourself? Have you found your purpose in life? Have you any suggestions or advice for me? Any psychological techniques I could try? Is it worthwhile to bark at that tree at all, do you think?

[Erki]

Yes,

http://www.google.ee/search?q=find+y...ient=firefox-a

not a lot of help? Actually, there are quite a few good websites around about finding your purpose and living it.

Just make sure you don't make googling your purpose.

[LeonBrooke]

I was lucky, I found my purpose straight out of secondary school - I believe that I'll have a long and happy career as a nurse.

The best (only?) advice I can give is to imagine yourself in various situations and see which is most appealing - i.e., in five years' time, the job you're doing, family, etc...

[EuroTroll]

Yes,

http://www.google.ee/search?q=find+y...ient=firefox-a

not a lot of help? Actually, there are quite a few good websites around about finding your purpose and living it.

Just make sure you don't make googling your purpose.

Indeed. I'm googling that stuff all the time, of course, and there's certainly some good content out there. I have some ideas and a number of techniques I'm trying, including one from that rather good StevePavlina.com site you once pointed me to.

But what I'm looking for here is actual experiences from real people. (You are real, aren't you? : ) And some new ideas, since the ones I have are not being particularly productive at the moment.

[EuroTroll]

I was lucky, I found my purpose straight out of secondary school - I believe that I'll have a long and happy career as a nurse.

The best (only?) advice I can give is to imagine yourself in various situations and see which is most appealing - i.e., in five years' time, the job you're doing, family, etc...

That's good to hear, Leon. It's certainly a very noble pursuit, and it's not hard to imagine how it can bring deep meaning to a person's life.

Your advice is good, but I'm sorry to say I've been doing that for what seems a very long time without reaching a conclusion. I need a new approach. There's drugs, of course, ("they expand your mind, dude..") but I don't much fancy that. : The Native American population is also not particularly great in Northern Estonia, so weird saunas and vision quests are out. :\ So what else is there?

[LeonBrooke]

Um... join the fire brigade?? You never know, it might do it for you.

[Gannex]

I think we need, most of all, to be needed. That's why Leon derives such satisfaction from nursing; he knows he is needed. When I was a criminal defense lawyer, I knew from the terrified look in my clients' eyes that they needed me. That's what made it worthwhile. Now I am older, it is my children who need me, so fatherhood gives me great satisfaction.

Find a path, therefore, which puts you in a position where other people need you, badly, and you will feel fulfilled.

[LeonBrooke]

Good piece of advice there Gannex

[Erki]

That's of course very good advice and certainly 100% true but it's IMO still quite vague. There are way too many things other people need. You gotta think about your own needs as well.

[J4MIE]

There are way too many things other people need. You gotta think about your own needs as well.

...and that's what makes the world go round