What makes you come alive gives meaning to life
What you need to know:
After all, what’s the point? Most of them would never be a career move and some of them really only matter to me (so who cares if I bother, right?). So I let them slowly slip away. My heart and soul felt bankrupt but in a world that values “reality” over living fully, it somehow seemed an OK compromise at the time.
I’ve always been a very engaged person with lots of different interests. Yet there were definitely times, when I was so dissatisfied with my career, spent each day in a toxic job, and felt it was easier to give up on the things I loved doing.
After all, what’s the point? Most of them would never be a career move and some of them really only matter to me (so who cares if I bother, right?). So I let them slowly slip away. My heart and soul felt bankrupt but in a world that values “reality” over living fully, it somehow seemed an OK compromise at the time.
The problem with taking this approach to your life is that it is like a tire with a slow leak. Eventually you’ll find yourself totally flat or as the air is leaking out of the tire (your life) it will weaken to the point that it’ll blow when you most need it. Neither one is pretty.
You see, you may think you don’t need this spark and joy of what makes you come alive in order to be successful “in the real world”. Yet in fact it is the single most important element in succeeding on your own terms.
Without a sense of engagement and aliveness in your days, what’s the point? Just ticking off things on your to-do list so you can arrive safely at death’s door? It may sound harsh but oh, so many people in this country are on that very path.
Now you may be thinking - but money really matters. Absolutely, yes it does. Money matters but the meaning of life matters even more. Without it, everything else is just going through the motions.
You see, coming alive doesn’t mean you have to quit your job to become a full-time artist (if art is what makes you come alive). It doesn’t mean that you have to totally reinvent your career, but putting art back into your life on a regular basis (say, daily or weekly) can make you come alive.
All of a sudden, you start taking time just for you and then paradoxically you start finding more opportunities and success in all you do. Not to mention you actually enjoy each day more and feel more alive and with a sense of energy and “zing” in your life. How great would that be?
Now ask yourself - what makes me come alive? Start adding that element into your life today. Good luck.
