The Quest For Purpose: Is It Worth It?

In today's society, our worth and value are rooted in what we do, what we produce, and what we can achieve. Our culture continues to place a high value on becoming more efficient and productive, and our sense of purpose is shaped by what we do instead of who we are.

This discourse is becoming more evident as different media platforms emphasize finding one's purpose. But what is it costing us? Is our pursuit of purpose costing our health, quality of life, and well-being? Recent studies reported that the majority of U.S. Americans are experiencing higher levels of stress, mental health challenges, and diseases and sicknesses. It is evident that the state of our well-being has reached an all-time high, and many have declared we are living in a mental health epidemic.

But why? What are the values governing our lives? What is influencing the quality of our lives? And most importantly, what is the driving force shaping our lives? The law of gravity teaches us that whatever goes up must come down and suggests to me that there is a force that contributes to everything moving around us. I believe the same applies to our lives. There is a force that influences the direction of our lives and decisions that determine how we live our lives.

Examples of driving forces in our lives can be the expectations of others, people's opinions, cultural and family norms, religious identities, and even the environment where we live can be driving forces of how we shape our lives. If we do not examine the driving forces behind our lives and decisions, we will build our lives according to what the world wants us to become instead of choosing who we want to be, and we will fall into the trap of living a life that is not our own but shaped by others.

I remember my pastor said, "Speed doesn't matter if you are going in the wrong direction." it is critical to examine the influences, values, and motives behind our lives. We only have one life, and we must make sure we are building it according to who we are and not according to how others.