Finding Your WHY
“He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW.” - Nietzsche
The STRIVENT Book Club is reading “Man’s Search for Meaning” right now and we had another great discussion last night that stirred up some deep existential questions.
What is your WHY in life?
Do you have a personal destiny?
What is the meaning of your life and does it change?
One of our members brought up a great point about taking care of yourself first so that you can be in a position to take care of others;
“Your first job is to not be poor.”
This ties to the book nicely as Victor Frankl suggests that our meaning is typically outside of ourselves, either in being there for another person, contributing some great piece of art or science to the world, or by simply experiencing the beauty of it all. In fact, he stresses that, “the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche.”
In other words, “self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence”.
Stated even more to the point, reaching one’s potential is only possible if you get out of your own way and think about serving others.
What gift do you have to give to the world today?
Is it an idea?
Is it a product or service?
Is it your full attention to a loved one in a conversation?
Whatever it is, allow yourself to focus on what’s meaningful to you.
That is the only way to ensure your life has meaning at all.
