When I felt like I didn’t have a purpose in life
14 Feb 2017
Purpose is the quality we choose to shape our lives around.
Richard J. Leider - Author
I was good at playing guitar and keyboard. I never became a musician. I was good at athletics, football and volleyball. I never became a sports man. I was good at designing websites. I never became a web designer. I was good at exploiting vulnerabilities. I never became an ethical hacker. I was good at programming and solving complex problems. I never became a programmer. I was good at accounts. I never became a charted accountant. I was good at psychology. I never became a psychologist. I was good at marketing. I never became a marketing guru. I was good at business. I never made billions. I never mastered any of these.
These were just a few thoughts running on mind that always pulled me down. I was frustrated with my life. I saw many specialists in their fields. I couldn’t be one in whatever I was good at. It was devastating and I wished I could rewind my life to start afresh. I was wondering if I had no purpose in my life. I was wondering if I was unable to find my true calling. I was disappointed. I was frustrated. I was shattered.
If you are someone who has this problem, if you are someone who just realized you have this problem, welcome to the club! I want you to know despite all these issues, I chose not to give up. That is the little secret to what I am today.
1. You are not alone
If you ever felt that your interests and passions changed over time or if you had a pattern in your life where what you were doing with all your heart was suddenly not challenging any more, remember, you are not alone. It is totally OK to be what you are.
2. The world needs you
It is normal for people of this sort to feel alone in this world with many specialists in different fields. Am I really any worth, would have been a question you should have asked yourself at least a couple of times. You would be relieved to know the fact that this world can not operate with just the specialists. This world needs you!
3. You make a great team
Along your journey you have learned from a variety of fields. You have known more than what an average person had known. You have diversified interest, passion and therefore knowledge. You are now fully equipped to find the intersections of these different fields of your interests and passion. These intersections are unique and that is what makes you great in your team. This uniqueness is what brings about innovation! You make a great team with people specialized in different fields of the intersection you discover!
If you asked me when is the right time to find intersections, honestly, I wouldn’t know. All I know is that I would keep chasing my passion and working hard until I can finally find an intersection. Even if I found one I don’t think I would stop taking up different passions in the future as I know I have already found a few intersections but they are still not so challenging for me to quit the race.