What is the purpose in life?

Do you have a purpose in life? Are there any reasons why you are brought on to this earth? Life without a purpose is without direction nor meaning, and each day without purpose can only bring hopelessness. Conversely, with a well defined purpose, each day becomes focused, meaningful and motivated. A few years earlier, I thought that I had found my purpose in life but recent changes in my life have given me second thoughts. How about you, have you found your own purpose yet?

During my younger school days, my studies were excellent, I seem to be able to get consistently good results without the need for too much effort. Life seem to go along just fine such that I felt overconfident of my own abilities, and that I could achieve anything I wanted if I set my heart out to it.

When I was doing National Service, my interest in entrepreneurship was sparked and I thought of starting my own business. I thought that starting a business was the surest way to succeed, gain fame, fortune and recognition, which seem at that time a good purpose in life to strive towards. Driven by this purpose, I met up and got together with some like-minded secondary school friends during my university days and set off headfirst into planning a restaurant business. In my final year in university, the restaurant became a reality. It was like a dream come true for a 23- year old to become a business owner then!

The new business was difficult to manage, and all the more since all my partners and myself did not have much experience in the restaurant business, where competition and overheads were legendarily cut throat. Whatever little revenue we earned was ploughed back into the business. When I graduated from university a year later, I figured out that the restaurant was not going to be profitable in the near term and hence took on a full time job to bring in income. Thus, I started a vicious work cycle trying to juggle a fulltime job while running a business.

The years thereafter were completely stressful and arduous. After almost five years struggling, I felt completely burned out keeping the restaurant afloat and it didn't help that I was also encountering a plateau on my full time job. It seems that my previous actions were bringing me nowhere nearer my dreams. Was my desire for fame and fortune my correct purpose? Early last year, there finally came an urge for me to relinquish all that I had and to start life anew, which was what I did, quitting both the restaurant and the job without any idea where these decisions will bring me.

Luckily, God is faithful and has provided a way out. I secured another interesting role on my last day of work in the same company, and four months later another opportunity came for a better job in another company despite these times of worldwide economic recession.

Being driven by materialism is clearly not the purpose for me now. What is your purpose in life? Is it giving you the necessary meaning, focus and motivation? Thoughts to ponder for the new year and I hope that the correct purpose does bring you peace!

Do subscribe to Prospecting LIFE if you like my post.
Visit Prospecting LIFE Bookstore for recommended readings to bring success into your life!