I think finding your why is something people struggle with every day — me included.
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This was originally published on Medium. To read it at its original location, hit this link.
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I don’t know when, where, how, or even why people find their why — they just find it.
I mean, I feel like where I’m at with my life is pretty enjoyable. I have a great family, job, I know a lot of great people, I hang, train, chat, chill, eat, read, write. It all sounds good, right?
Well, of course it is, and I’m grateful for it all every single day. But, despite this, I always feel like there can be more to life. I feel like I’m always looking for more. And, I always wonder when and if I’ll find my why.
ARE YOU THE SAME?
Finding your why can be a dark road, and when you go deep into this topic, the term ‘happiness’ in life is always brought up.
But, what is happiness anyway? I mean, what is true happiness? Does that shit even exist?
I wrote about this briefly last year where I spoke of the Hedonic treadmill and how “true” happiness can never actually be achieved as once we reach a level, we always want more — we always strive for more.
You can see this in CEO’s and multi-billionaires all around the world, and you can see it with people that have a loving family, perfect job, great social life and hobbies, but they — like all people that seem to “have it all” — are always doing more — they’re always, looking for more.
WHY NO WHY?
So, why do the billionaires keep working anyway? A lot of people question this and wonder why, with all that money, would they keep on working 14 (or more) hour days.
But, why do the people with the loving family, “perfect” job, and “perfect” bodies constantly strive for more also?
Whilst of course “perfection” is a perspective, and from any point of view, there are always people that say money can’t buy happiness, but is that true?
“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”
― Dave Ramsey
Happiness — when you think about it — seems to in fact be purchasable when you strip away all the fancy toys, clothes, houses, and vehicles leaving you with one simple thing that everyone — no matter who you are — is in search for more of.
FREEDOM
This has got to honestly be the number one reason anyone does anything for money.
It’s the freedom people want so that they can get away from their job to allow themselves more time to focus on more of what they like doing. If their job is exactly what they want to be doing more of, then still, their freedom commodity is still strived for.
Either way you look at it, people always want more time to do their hobby more, to experience more, to live more. Freedom — so it seems — is a result of money. And freedom, seems to result in true happiness.
“Freedom is never given; it is won.” — A. Philip Randolph
So, when it comes to the billionaires, why do they keep working? Why do they keep pushing to increase their bank account?
It’s surely got nothing to do with the toys that their money allows them to buy. I mean, if you strip away all of that, you’re left with the only logical reason being that what they are doing is their passion — it’s their true why. They enjoy working long hours and doing things that impact their world.
But, what about you?
YOUR WHY
No matter who you are, or where you are on the ‘struggling for money’ and ‘whatever, hand me my private jet tuxedo’ spectrum, people that want more are always constantly trying to tick more things off in their life in pursuit of more freedom.
And so it seems passion — most of the time — outweighs anything in life — including money.
But, if you’re at a loss with where or what your why is, finding passion may be what is required to bring it out.
For me, my passions come out through doing anything that is growth, through finding more, for looking for more — and not just in myself, but in engaging and helping other people, too. So, who knows, maybe that’s my why.
Though, how can you find your passion, or even, find your big why in life?
HOW
I can’t answer that completely, but I believe by staying open minded, trying new things, constantly looking for new experiences, doing things that other people disregard — or are even too lazy to do, learning more, living more, all these things can lead you to finding things in life that you are passionate about.
Staying in a comfortable box life may seem like an okay option, but, what else can you do? What else can you give? Questioning this may lead you down the path to your big why and the big reason that you indeed have all this freewill and consciousness on this perfectly located little blue speck of a planet.