Your purpose doesn’t need to be your profession and here’s why
We are all spreading false truths about finding one’s purpose.
Everywhere I see, there is someone telling about finding their purpose, someone teaching “How to find your purpose?”.
While this may be true for some people, most people struggle to find one. The more we talk about finding the purpose the more we are propagating the idea that everyone needs to have one.
Instead of liberating people, the whole idea of finding a purpose has started becoming fetters for us.
When I started my entrepreneurship journey, I heard a lot of people talk on Ted, Youtube, and blogs about how their lives are fulfilling because they found their purpose.
In fact, I too wrote an article on this topic on Medium.
I started worrying because I kept flipping from one thing to another. After several years of knowing and unknowing, I still don’t have the slightest idea what my purpose is.
I took several quizzes, courses and talked to a few people, and tried to find my purpose but I couldn’t. The more I tried, the more I felt I was restricting myself.
Why I felt miserable?
As an entrepreneur, there are so many ideas you can come up with from a calculated point of view.
You understand the business, product-market fit, profitable industry, and the right time to venture into one.
But sometimes you start connecting all of this with your purpose. And start questioning, “How can selling T-shirts be my purpose?”. There has got to be something bigger than this.
You look around and people are earning millions from their true purpose and here you are unable to even find one.
When you quit your job, you also have to think about ways to make money and if finding your purpose is the first thing you need to do, then you do have a really hard time moving to step two.
If you are not able to come out of the first step then your next few months are going to torment you.
If you do come up with a few things you think are aligned with your purpose, you try doing them and then feel it’s not the right one.
You try something new and then quit. You get caught up in this vicious circle. How long do you think you can keep experimenting without having any money by your side?
You are constantly watching content on how others found their’s and even hoping for a life-changing event to happen to give you a purpose, a meaning to your life.
But the way your brain works is different.
The reward system of your brain is amazing. When you complete a task, you feel a sense of accomplishment.
Your brain releases dopamine and you get hooked on to that feeling of achievement. You feel more confident and you want to achieve more.
But when you keep quitting and don’t complete the tasks at hand, you are sending the wrong message to the brain.
Your brain gets comfortable with the idea of not completing anything is always on the lookout for something more real, something more aligned, something worthwhile.
Because that is what gives your brain a surge of dopamine now. That is what it is hooked on to now.
However, over time your brain stops feeling a sense of achievement and you fall prey to disappointment and the feelings of failure.
This makes you feel devastated, confused and disconnected from yourself and others.
Why I think the concept is flawed?
I say finding your purpose doesn’t necessarily have to be a career. You can have a job or a business, and a purpose to live by simultaneously.
You can or can not choose to earn money from your purpose. When you have money and a purpose, your life is so much better.
Imagine having a career as a Paleontologist but you always had an urge to be an artist deep down.
If you follow the idea of finding your purpose and you think your purpose is to make beautiful art and live your life as an artist.
But we all know the story of the starving artist. We think we do not have enough time to do both.
Imagine you quit your job and start making money from your purpose as an artist. You struggle for years before you can live a good life. Maybe in between, you lose the motivation to even paint because there’s no money.
Now imagine another scenario where you love your job as a Paleontologist and take cues from history to become an artist.
Maybe you find a niche in painting. You have a workplace where you can showcase your work and also feel motivated to do more art because of all the appreciation.
Maybe some connections at a museum help you set up your art gallery. All this while still earning money as a Paleontologist.
You don't have to hate the job you have.
Every passion and purpose becomes a full-time job at one point and that too will be as monotonous my friend.
I have always loved doing multiple things at a time. This keeps me sane because I love the stimulation my mind gets when I am indulging in different activities.
But that didn’t go well with the idea of having to do one thing for the rest of my life.
I believe at different stages of your life you experience different things and you have different expectations from your life.
The underlying beliefs change and so does your purpose. If you don’t adapt accordingly, you feel stuck and miserable.
So before taking that leap, see if you can have a profession and a purpose to fulfill your soul.
Money empowers you to do more not restrict you.
Find your purpose but don’t cripple yourself with the idea of finding it and earning a living only from it.
