My journey discovering who I am
I graduated college in 2022. Like many middle class kids from a first world country, life up to this point was pretty much planned out for me. It looks something like this:
- Graduate high school
- Go to college
- Meet your life partner
- Graduate college
- Get a job
- Retire
Following graduation, I have spent nearly three years trying to figure out essentially how to spend the rest of my life, as I have accomplished what was laid out for me. This meant asking myself questions like:
- What does a fulfilling life look like? And how do I live one?
- How should I spend my days to make the most of my life?
- What actually matters to me?
Of course, many people online claim to have the answers to all of these questions. They glamorize their lifestyle and leave you wanting a life even remotely similar to theirs. But highlighting glamour is usually prioritized over sharing the lows.
Although we can all see this trap from a mile away, it is somehow still very easy to get caught in it.
Iāve spent these last three years trying to live these lives others have glamorized onlineāindie hacker, blogger, and YouTuber to name a few.
I still felt lost.
What changed?
I realized I was not living a life of my own. I was pursuing things that I now realize donāt matter to me.
I realized I was trying to run away from a life I actually love.
I feel no need to try different āside hustlesā.
I have what even many billionaires lackāenough.
But living an authentic life is only part of the equation. I still need purpose.
Finding my why
Coincidentally (or maybe not!), I have also gained a lot of clarity on my lifeās mission over these past three years.
Fictionāparticularly The Remembrance of Earthās Past seriesāhas helped me find this answer.
In college, I got on board with this idea:
a life of meaning comes from dedicating your life to others.
I was committed to living in service of humanity.
But how do I serve humanity? For six years, I thought this was working to help fix the climate crisis. More recently, I added the goal of helping others be the best they can be.
The lightbulb moment happened as I finished the aforementioned series: all of these goals fit under the same umbrella. And sacrifices donāt have to be made in achieving them.
And that lead me to discovering my lifeās true mission.
Human flourishing for the benefit of Earth.
What does this mean going forward?
It is honestly quite freeing to have a much better idea of who I am and what matters to me.
Now that I have found this clarity, it is time to start living for my why and help others to do the same.