The Meaning of Life Is Not Happiness, but Personal Growth

For almost 200,000 years, mankind has been searching for an answer to the meaning of life wherever it may be - in the sky, in the gods, in the nature around us. Month.

However, whatever you do and whatever you do, you are constantly tormented by the same existential question… Why do you exist?

This is indeed a very interesting and fascinating question. This is a question of what it is like to be human, and if we answer it, we can come closer to understanding what and how we live. But the essence of this question is such that the answer can only be found in itself.

Perhaps I will allow myself to quote the great philosopher and psychotherapist Carl Jung:

"Your gaze will only become clear when you can look into your own heart. He who looks outside is asleep; he who looks inward awakens ".

It is much easier for all of us to live by someone else's orders than to decide how to live on our own. However, you can find the meaning of your life and your purpose only on your own. It is not something you can extract from an external source.

No wonder the Russian classic Fyodor Dostoevsky once said:

"The mystery of human existence is not just about living, but finding something worth living for. "

Therefore, you should conclude that the meaning of life is not at all in happiness, but in testing your limits and limitations and seeing how far you can go. Its meaning is to always be extremely curious and not to consider the restrictions imposed from the outside as what determines who you are.

According to the famous psychologist Dr. Gordon Livingston, for people to be happy, they need three things:

1. Something to do.

2. Someone to love.

3. Something to strive for and strive for.

Here's what the famous writer Viktor Frankl said about it:

"Success, like happiness, cannot be achieved, it cannot enter your life alone and it does so only as an unexpected side effect of a life dedicated slightly greater than itself, or complete surrender to the person to whom you will dedicate it. your heart."

I hope my article will help in this regard.

So I'll start

Something to do

However, it is important not what you do. The important thing is if you do this for others. As Newport explains:

If you want to love what you do, give up the pleasure-seeking mentality ("What does this world have to offer me?") And instead embrace the master's mentality ("What can I offer this world?")

Indeed, instead of striving to be selfish just for your pleasure at all costs, you should think about cultivating skills and knowledge that can improve not only your life but also the lives of others.

When you start striving for something more and better than yourself and you start thinking about more than yourself, your skills become more than just their sum, instead of turning into parts of a larger whole and becoming it gives you the meaning of life and the certainty.

When you start to see that your work has a positive impact on the lives of those around you, your self-confidence increases. And as your self-esteem grows, you begin to enjoy what you do - you become more involved in it, and sooner or later, you begin to see your job as a "calling" or "life mission." ⁇

You need someone you can love

According to neurologists, the more you love someone, the more they will love you. And that makes sense: in fact, we all want the same thing. We all want love and a sense of belonging - it is in our human nature.

However, you seldom remember that love is not a noun, but a verb. And if you do not use love and do not feed it with positive emotions, you will lose it.

However, if you truly love someone, it will certainly affect your behavior. You will cease to be as fixed as before and you will begin to be for this person who needs it.

But no matter how incredible the power of love is, love alone is not enough to make you happy for the rest of your life. For that, you still need your dreams and desires.

As Grant Cardon put it:

"Remember that only one person, even the most loved one, can ever make you happy enough to make up for all the dreams and goals you had before meeting her."

You need something to strive for, to strive for.

• Better ask yourself what your dream is right now?
• Where do you want to go?
• Who do you want to be?
• What do you want to do?
• Who do you want to do this with?
• How do you imagine your ideal day?

If you want your dream to have the biggest impact on your life, try to think less about where you are now and what to do with it - instead, think about where you want to be. For many people, the goals that have already been achieved become a barrier that limits your development, so think less about what you have already done and more about what you can still do.

You should not let the circumstances of today's life, no matter how good and favorable, prevent you from achieving something even more magnificent and ambitious.

You are both a developer and a creator of your way of life and you must strive to maintain each strong and confident role.

So where do you want to be in a year, two, or ten years?

How I Found the meaning of life

I haven't always written articles about the meaning of life. In addition, this idea has not occurred to me for many years. I was too addicted to video games, movies, and social media to have time to think about it.

However, the day came when I, although with difficulty, disconnected from the "Matrix". I moved away from the computer and TV screens and started reading books again. Reading became a desire to write something of mine and then it turned out that what I was writing was interesting not only for me.

Because of this, my idea of ​​who I am and where the path of my life is has changed radically. I began to perceive myself as a writer… But now, looking back at the beginning of my life, I realized that from the very beginning I was destined to become a writer, I just had no idea.

Imagine that every moment of your life is a question of the universe that is addressed to you, and what will be your answer will determine your actions. And, of course, in most cases, there are no right or wrong options.

You probably know this feeling when you go through difficult life circumstances, go through a hurdle, or take risks, eventually getting even more than you hoped for, and after all, you feel like you should. to happen …

Maybe so? As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, "Once you've made a decision, the universe is conspiring with you to do it."

I think it's a thought worth considering.

Some ideas to reflect

Don't you live in a simulation?

You regularly come across certain ideas that allow you to say "I exist!" - For example, in deadly situations. Metzinger believes that this allows you to make sure that you exist in the real universe, and not in its imitation, no matter how good.

However, all these emotions, feelings, and perspectives can exist in a complex simulation. I mean, I haven't proven anything yet.

However, if you live in a simulation, is it that important? Humanity has been around for almost 200,000 years, without thinking if you don't live in a simulation and you don't even know what it is.

So, if it is and you know it, the only thing that will change is your perception, and your life experience will remain unchanged anyway.

Why are you really afraid? To die or to die without really living?

I recently watched an interview with a monk entrepreneur, transformed into the name Dandapani, who said that when his guru was dying, his last words were "What a wonderful life. I wouldn't change it for anything. "

Why do you think he said that before he died? Yes, because he lived his life according to his destiny and beliefs. He did not leave a single case unfinished. He knew what he wanted to spend his time on in this incarnation, and he did.

He did not waste his time in the endless quest to get rid of happiness or fashion trends. He found something that gave meaning to his life and has been striving for it ever since.

And it seems to me that we are all struggling. We are not afraid that our current life experience will end abruptly. We are afraid of something completely different - then it will end before it even begins. That we will never find anything meaningful to direct our time and effort. That's why we have to find something to do, someone to love, and something to strive for as soon as possible.

In conclusion

The meaning of your life is not happiness, but personal growth. Happiness will come to you alone when you dedicate your time and effort to become better, stronger, and wiser than you are now. You are happy when you strive for something more meaningful and majestic than yourself.

Therefore, instead of pursuing a momentary passion, try to make your life truly valuable, and not just for yourself. The pleasure of satisfying the whims of the moment can never be compared to the pleasure of changing this world in the slightest. That you did your part to improve it. That time spent on planet Earth has not been wasted.

Of course, any person's life experience is not objective, but subjective. When you look at the world, you and only you, give meaning and significance to what you see.

As Stephen Covey put it, "You don't see the world as it is, but as you want it to be."

This means that only you can decide what you live for and if you have a goal or potential that requires fulfillment.

And you should always remember that love is one of those things that can do more for you than for you. Transforms both the lover and the loved one. Do not be afraid of love - even if there are many obstacles in its way, the result is more than worthwhile.

Finally, you need something you can aspire to. Without a vision of a beautiful future that can one day reach, people quickly lose their motivation. Where does the future lead you?