If You Can't Stop Thinking About It, You Shouldn't Stop Working For It

In life, both everything and nothing matters. It’s difficult for us, as people, to contemplate the possibility that everything around us and far away from us has no innate meaningfulness.

Human beings have a need for things – life itself – to have meaning, purpose.

This is why we create gods and religions. This is why we feel a need to believe in something greater, more powerful, guiding us through life. Maybe there is a purpose to it all – a purpose that goes beyond human understanding.

But maybe there isn’t. In this world, in this life, you get to decide what matters and what doesn’t matter. People get to decide.

As it’s impossible to come to a logical conclusion to life’s purpose(s), human beings are the ones who decide if something is important or trivial.

How can I be so sure of this? Because if human beings didn’t exist, if conscious, intelligent beings didn’t exist, then who would it all matter to? Some people say God.

Others say to the universe itself. Me? I believe it’s important to theorize on such matters, but when it comes down to it, all that should really matter to you is what matters to you.

Instead of getting lost in life’s most profound and unanswerable questions, focus on the questions that affect your life directly.

I’m not saying to give up on contemplating the meaning of existence itself – it’s a wonderful exercise. But at the end of the day, what matters most are the things that affect your life directly – the things you can’t stop thinking about.

Each person’s life, each individual reality, is different from the next – sometimes slightly, sometimes greatly.

One person’s version of the world isn’t necessarily better or worse than the next person’s; it’s simply different.

Too many people spend too much time trying to convince the rest of the world their version of reality is better than everyone else’s, when in all honesty, it’s simply different.

True, some realities are happier and healthier than others, but they aren’t any more right or wrong than the next.

All that ought to matter to you are the things you tend to focus on most – the things or individuals you can’t stop thinking about. These are the aspects of our lives that have influenced our realities most.

Not always in a positive way, but even from the most negative influences, a profound and beneficial lesson can be learned.

You do need to be both aware and selective of what your consciousness tends to focus on.

This all goes back to shaping a reality for yourself that you wish to shape. Everyone spends so much time talking about finding a purpose in life. Whoever said that purpose was to be found?

Purpose isn’t something you find. On the contrary, it’s something you create – something you decide upon.

Life can both be completely purposeful or entirely meaningless; it’s up to you to decide.

Being aware of where your thoughts gravitate toward is the first step in taking control of your reality and thereby, taking control of your life.

When you find something worth focusing on, something you can invest in and expect a positive return on, then you have found something worth pursuing.

Everything else is trivial. Everything else you ought to take your focus off because all those other things do is distract you from what you believe to have meaning. And what you believe to have meaning is all that has meaning.

Finding or creating purpose for yourself is only the first step; the next step, and the more difficult one, is following through and taking action.

Once you find the right things or people to focus on, to devote your life to, life becomes better – instantly.

Not necessarily easier, but definitely better, more rewarding, more meaningful and more hopeful.

The hard part is continuing the pursuit when life makes it difficult to continue doing so.

Most people are certain they can push through the tough times, they can handle all the curveballs life throws at them, they can deal with the stress and pain of the inevitable failures that lie ahead – until they find themselves in that exact position.

Regardless of whether we’re talking about career goals, life goals, relationship goals or any other goals we believe to hold meaning, they all require action to attain.

And, like all necessary action, it’s much easier to theorize and imagine our eagerness to act than to actually act when the time comes to act.

Never give up on the things and people who mean the most to you in life because if you do, your life will lose meaning.

If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working for it. Don’t stop pushing ahead, no matter how difficult it may be.

You can take rests along the way, but make sure you get up and continue heading in the right direction as soon as you regain energy.

Life shouldn’t be rushed through – so don’t be discouraged if attaining your goals takes longer than you hoped or expected.

What point is there to rush? What are you rushing toward? Death?

Rushing to attain the life you wish for yourself is counterproductive. It leads to making more mistakes and to more failures.

More important than that even, it makes you miss out on all the little things that make life so enjoyable.

Never give up on your dreams, but understand goals are only as rewarding as the journey required to attain them. It’s what we learn and experience along the way that shapes our realities and our souls.

If you give up on the things and individuals you believe hold meaning, then you are, quite literally, giving up on yourself. Nothing could ever be sadder.

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