What is the secret to life? What is my purpose? Why am I here? Insert angsty teenage poem here.
Up until a few years ago, I thought I knew what my life’s purpose was. I thought I knew what everything meant. I was sure I had the truth of it all. I knew where I came from, why I was here, and where I was going.
Problem was, I wasn’t happy. I was walking this path that I had been promised would make me happy, or at the very least would guarantee happiness at a later date. So I kept walking the path.
Until one day I did something I had never allowed myself to do before. I asked myself if this really was the right path. I had never questioned the path before, but when I did, I realized it was wrong.
Great, so which path is the right path? Where do I go to find happiness, and meaning, and purpose? Realizing you’re heading in the wrong direction is one thing, figuring out where to go from there is something different. I didn’t want to chose wrong again.
For so long, I had believed there was only one right path. So when I realized the path I was on was wrong, I still thought in terms of finding the right way. There had to be a right path to give my life meaning and purpose. I struggled to find what the path was.
Then I thought about this scene from City Slickers where Curly talks about the secret to life. It’s just one thing. The great part is, we get to decide for ourselves what that one thing is. It’s up to us.
Don’t worry about the right or wrong path according to others. Choose your path. Decide what your own purpose is. As a hero of mine said:
Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.
Christopher Hitchens
You gotta figure out what your one thing is.
Leave a Reply