Breaking From The Materialist Norm: Finding Your Purpose In Life

To do, you must be motivated. To be motivated, you need something to motivate you — you need a purpose. Finding that one thing that motivates you to push yourself past your limits — yes, it has to be only one thing — is difficult for most.

The older we get, the more convoluted our wants and needs become and the less likely we are to pinpoint that one goal that is most important to us. Likewise, the older we get the more inclined we are to make a huge mistake; specifically: thinking that the one thing that we want more than anything else is money.

Money has no value. In fact, that which money can buy has no more value than you yourself give it. What intrinsic value does a sports car, a yacht, a mansion or any other toy have? Sure, the experiences and the joy you get from the experiences that having these things gives you is worth something — but again, it’s the experiences and not the actual items.

The human race has been focusing on the material for as long as we have a record of history. Yet oddly enough, when you look back at the lives of any of the greats, the history books will never mention the person’s shopping list, but rather their accomplishments, their theories, their additions to the world that benefited society. Your cars, motorcycles and clothing won’t be remembered because they will be out of style eventually. The only thing that will last is your ideas — assuming they are memorable.

So what is the point of spending your life chasing money? If money is your end-goal, what happens after you have made that money? Your life doesn’t end there, so either your goal has to be to continue making money, or you will come to realize that there is more to life than the amount of zeros in your bank account and you will be forced to change your perspective entirely.

So if money is not worth chasing, then what is? That depends on the person, but it is generally accepted that happiness is the ultimate goal. This is undoubtedly the reason why so many people decide to chase cash: they believe that being rich will make them happy.

This line of thinking is just silly. How often have we seen celebrities or millionaires/billionaires have mental breakdowns because they are unhappy with their lives? You may not know anyone personally in this sort of situation, but you undoubtedly have heard stories. Truth be told, nothing in the world has any intrinsic value other than the value each individual gives it.

The only things that arguably have intrinsic value are those that have life. Life, the one thing that has yet to be manufactured, is the one thing that has value on our planet. It is the one thing that cannot be bought, manufactured or sold. For this reason, what we truly ought to be focusing on is not how to make a fortune, but rather how to better life itself.

People tend to focus on their own problems and on ways of benefiting themselves. Some may call it selfishness; I call it human nature — or rather, the nature of living things.

Although, the moment arises when I have to begin to wonder if being human, having a consciousness and being able to recognize ourselves as distinct agents — something that no other creatures on this planet have, at least not to such an extent — maybe means that we ought to break this cycle of nature; maybe it is time that we move past our ways of self-benefaction.

We are programmed to survive — no matter what the circumstances. Because, as history has shown, human beings would rather take from each other than help each other, we have been forced to fend for ourselves — often at times at the expense of a fellow brother.

This all for the hope of attaining a monetary fortune, a fortune that only exists in our minds. If you look throughout history and all the greats that had once lived and even at those that are still alive today, you will notice a pattern. All those that are worth remembering have two things in common; they all worked on bettering themselves as people (not financially, but rather physically and mentally) and then used their skills towards creating something that would benefit the rest of the world.

What human beings really want is to create a lasting change — to create a legacy that will live on past our days. You can’t take money with you to your grave. You may not be able to take ideas with you either, but knowing that you did real good with your life is a much better way to finish up then knowing that although you made a fortune, you don’t have much else to show for it.

Happiness requires excitement and passion. You must be excited about the way you are living your life and for the purpose that you are living it for. The experiences and actions that you take are what really ought to bring you joy, not the cash rewards. There is a reason why people say that it is not the destination that counts, but rather the journey itself: the destination is always the same — death.

Whether or not you are a millionaire, I promise you, you will die. If you are spending every waking moment aiming at how to make another buck, all you will be left with on your deathbed is a long calculation of numbers and one lump sum that when looked at with a wise eye, amounts to zero. Human beings cannot survive on their own, so don’t bother trying to live a life of seclusion.

Make real connections and let your actions not only benefit you, but also benefit your brothers and sisters. Find a universal purpose and figure out your very own way of achieving it. Live life spreading love and happiness and not only by collecting payments. If your only two options are to die rich and miserable or broke and happy, go with the latter. Or be smart and find a way to die wealthy and happy.

Paul Hudson | Elite. 

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