When we talk of energy, we think of gas for our cars, or
solar, or nuclear power, or coal power.
We worry about running out of fossil fuels.
We worry about the dangers of nuclear power.
We worry about the environmental impacts of burning coal.
We worry about all the wood from the trees being used up for
fires.
We worry about everything under the sun.
Of course, we don’t do anything about it. We do not use our
cars less. Or burn less firewood.
We think it is someone else’s problem to solve all this.
Also, we want to have our cake and eat it too when it comes
to anything in life.
The best form of energy is actually human energy.
Human energy is such that even a small human being can be a
powerhouse and move mountains.
Mahatma Gandhi was a small man.
He was short, he was thin (almost skeletal) and he had no
muscles.
He was the opposite of an Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He had no martial arts abilities.
He was the opposite of a Bruce Lee.
He had no military training and did not know how to use any
arms.
He was the opposite of a Tecumseh.
What Mahatma Gandhi had was human energy.
The force of human will linked to a larger purpose.
This is the most powerful energy in the world.
It is energy in which the normal constraints don’t apply.
We come home from our work day and say “I’m pooped”.
Some of us flop down in front of the tv and nod off.
We get through school, take up a job, we earn money, we
get married, we raise a family, we hold our place in society as employed,
productive people.
But for most of us, getting through the 8 hours of a typical work day is
too much.
We need Starbucks coffee and Red Bull and 5-hour Energy to
keep going, while we read Tim Ferris and sigh.
Our energy flags easily.
But when we have a sense of purpose, normal constraints don’t
apply.
Our sense of purpose gives us energy.
We find ourselves prepared to go days and nights, even
sacrifice evenings and weekends.
Having “a sense of purpose” can make us wake up to every
day with excitement, anticipation and energy.
It’s the antidote to tiredness.
The purpose may be attending a hobby, bettering our best,
learning something new, achieving a higher level at something, conquering a
hard to kick habit, or getting involved in a social or political cause.
Our chosen field of work can also give us a sense of
purpose.
Entrepreneurs are blessed in this regard. While for the rest of us, working is a social
and economic necessity and a compulsion, entrepreneurs do what they really want to do –
the income and status and other rewards, physical and psychological being merely byproducts of following their dream.
This is why entrepreneurs are able to work harder than the
rest of us. You lucky dog, Elon Musk, you, you.
But anything can give us a sense of purpose - even something
outside of our 8-5 hours.
Working on bettering an area of our lives may give us a
sense of purpose.
Exploring something new may give us a sense of purpose.
A desire to help someone or to create change may give us a
sense of purpose.
The more sense of purpose the activity has for us - the
higher will be our energy, and the higher will be our motivation to find the time,
ideas, money, and resources for it.
People get surprised when I tell them my blog posts take
about 8 hours to write on average.
“My goodness! That’s
a lot, Minoo. That’s like a whole day of work! How do you do it?”
I am highly motivated, because blogging gives me a great
sense of purpose.
I feel renewed every time I write my blog.
I feel I am doing something purposeful.
When people comment on a post, as Ajay and Uday and Ananda
and Subhakar and Rosie and Badri did last week, this sense of purpose is
heightened.
Truthfully speaking, my blog is play to me. I am like a
child on the beach with my bucket and spade, scooping up treasures from the
sand – only the treasures I scoop are not pebbles and shells, but philosophical
treasures – sudden insights, idea flashes, thoughts of different colors.
Writing satisfies me so much, after writing a post, I feel a
sense of fulfillment - like someone feels after a job well done, after completing
a hard task, achieving a high game score, or achieving an important milestone in trying to kick a habit.
Learning to meditate and conquering my anger issues also
give me a great sense of purpose. And I
always have the energy for them.
A child on the beach builds sand castles. I build sand castles too. In my post, The Element of the First Step and Its Hope for Getting Big Things Started In Our Lives, I
came up with the suggestion of One Wall. One Wall is one of my sand castles. I know sand castles are blown away by air and
water. (Water and air are powerful – the
Grand Canyon was sculpted by water and air). But when you have a sense of
purpose, it’s the journey that matters. “It’s
the process, not the destination” as my nephew Vikram will say.
My blog is about a becoming and an evolution. I evolve
every week, and the blog evolves with me.
As we evolve, our sense of purpose evolves.
I have a friend I have known for a long time.
In her 20's and 30's, she was famous for painting
nudes. Her house had giant canvases of nudes wherever you looked.
My friend’ sense of purpose at that time was related to
expressing herself through writing, art, music and clothes.
As she got older, my friend was drawn to spiritual, contemplative
and service activities. This is where
she found a sense of purpose.
Now a
practicing Buddhist, her daily rituals are dominated by putting herself at the service of the Buddhist nuns - she sweeps the temple
floor, cleans the temple bathrooms, she prays, she meditates.
You will never believe what she did with those treasured
paintings of nudes. She used them all up as firewood.There was no place in her new life for them.
We all know someone like my friend.
People whose sense of
purpose was materially or creatively oriented at one time, but is spiritually
oriented now.
The journey will be different for each of us.
Some people will start out creative, artistic, but become more inward focused and service oriented as they get older.
For others, the opposite will apply.
Having spent their lives dealing with the practical realities of getting through school, working a job, getting married and providing
for and raising a family, now as empty-nesters, free of responsibilities, they might be drawn to explore their creative, artistic and inventive sides.
This is what gives them their sense of
purpose now.
Remember as our sense of purpose evolves, everything we
touch and create will evolve.
As we evolve in our thoughts about food, our cooking and
eating will evolve.
As we evolve in our thoughts about nature and the
environment, our gardening and handling of natural resources will evolve.
As we evolve in our mental and emotional habits, our interactions
with people and handling of situations will evolve.
In all the areas in which we have a sense of purpose, this will apply.
The creation of the wonderful and marvelous Iphone reflects
the sense of purpose and consciousness of its creator Steve Jobs.
The story of India winning its independence from the
British Raj reflects the sense of purpose of the peace-loving man who led it - Mahatma
Gandhi.
It is exciting when we have a sense of purpose.
We may have to undertake a lot of different things.
Find money for the purpose.
Find time for the purpose – especially if we have
responsibilities.
Find physical, mental and emotional space for the purpose.
Find the right strategy for the purpose - even giving up “my way or the highway” as needed.
But all these are captivating chores, when we have a sense
of purpose.
Also, it doesn’t matter whether we live to see the purpose achieved.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton never lived to see American women be able
to vote, the cause she had dedicated her life to.
President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated within 2 years of signing the
Emancipation Proclamation.
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King lost their lives without
seeing the full harvest of their work.
But all these people were indefatigable to the very end.
Their sense of purpose gave them unflagging energy.
Find your purpose.
That unsung song.
Those unread books.
Those unwritten or unsaid words.
That untilled soil.
That road you've never taken.
Fulfillment begins when you are able to say "YES THIS IS MY PURPOSE".
It is important not to postpone activities that could give you
a sense of purpose.
We will never know we had it in us, if we continue to do
the same circular things day in and day out, no matter how much prestige or money
they might bring.
I shudder to think I might not have started writing
this blog – it means so much to me.
If you have a hard time deciding on your purpose, rely on your
intuition.
Albert Einstein said,"the intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
Follow Einstein's lead. Let intuition will be your guide.
Go
Find Your Purpose
Write these words somewhere.
"Go
Find Your Purpose"
Write them on your hand:
"Go
Find Your Purpose"
Write them on a blackboard:
"Go
Find Your Purpose"
Print them and put them under a glass on your desk:
"Go
Find Your Purpose"
Write them on your whiteboard:
"Go
Find Your Purpose"
Carve them on a tree:
"Go
Find Your Purpose"
Go Find Your Purpose, My Friend.
GFYP.
Dear
Reader – I hope this post will help you get connected to a meaningful purpose
and to discover the energy you never thought you had. As always, thanks for
reading and have a great day and week…..M…..a Pearl Seeker like you. Oh yes, do
read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren – if you are finding it hard
getting unstuck.
