He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.
– Friedrich Nietzsche
No matter what obstacles you face in life, if you have a why to live, you can bear any how.
Your “why” is what creates a positive emotion within you.
Your “why” is what gets you through life’s challenges, hardships, and suffering.
The positive emotion generated by your “why” arms you with a positive attitude and steers you in the right direction in pursuit of your life purpose.
When you have something to look forward to and work for, your life is filled with hope, anticipation, and motivation.
Nothing you ever do is done on a whim but with intention.
Having a life purpose can change the trajectory of your life.
On the contrary, life without purpose is monotonous, boring, dark, and bleak.
Life becomes a matter of existing rather than living.
You become prone to bad habits. Health neglected. Relationships broke down. Career prospects are out the window.
You become resentful, angry, and bitter.
So we can agree on the necessity of having a why.
But what if you have no clue about your life’s purpose and don’t know where to begin?
“The meaning of life” sounds abstract and confusing.
You don’t know what it means, how to find it, or where to begin.
If you’re in such a dilemma, here’s one suggestion you might want to consider:
By the way, don’t think you’re the only one lost in the direction of life.
Many people go through life without even thinking about it. Even if they do, some people never find it.
I suspect one of the key reasons is because they think the meaning of life has to be something grand.
In search of it, all they do is thinking, until they get stuck and run out of time.
Given the dilemma and at the risk of wasting your precious time, here is a surefire way to set you off on a quest for living a meaningful life.
It’s a good starting point that may well lead you somewhere along the way.
Make Someone Else’s Life Better
If you are unsure of your life purpose, here’s a mission you can aim for.
Make someone in the immediate vicinity happy.
It’s one of the best ways you can make your life meaningful because you take an unselfish act towards someone important in your life.
For example, your parents have never had proper holidays. They have spent their entire life working and taking care of you and your siblings.
You decide your purpose is to become as successful as you can be and buy two round-the-world tickets for your parents.
Looking after their well-being and creating and maintaining a strong family bond is a worthwhile purpose to pursue.
It’s infinitely better than struggling to find your life purpose and wasting your whole life over it.
That’s for sure.
Or perhaps it’s your significant other, with whom you wish you could spend more time.
You want to help him relieve the financial stress and burden and “save” him from slaving at work.
You decide your purpose is to build a successful home-based business, allow your partner to quit his job and do his passion project instead, spend more time together, and start a family.
Or you could volunteer in a local charity shop, tutor basic computer skills at a community college for seniors and contribute to the community.
Often, the meaning of life can sound so philosophical that we forget that the simplest and most meaningful thing we can do is better someone else’s life.
Your “Why” doesn’t have to be Grand
“World peace” may sound grand, if not too idealistic.
The more realistic approach would be to fix our relationship with our parents and siblings first before seeking to establish peace elsewhere.
Contributing to building a strong relationship within the immediate vicinity is more useful and powerful.
It has a direct (and positive) impact on our wellbeing, making our home, workplace, or community stronger.
It stabilises our environment and improves the quality of our lives.
The positive environment rewards us with a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction and, therefore, happiness.
Final Thoughts
If you feel stuck with “the meaning of life” and have no clue where to begin, start from your immediate vicinity.
Think of ways to make others’ lives a little better.
Do something for someone close to you.
That person’s happiness may give your life the meaning that you’ve been looking for.
Who knows where it may lead you, but it’s a great place to start.
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