How do I event start such a post?
I am not the deepest and most philosophical person myself.
This whole blog entry is in reference to a couple of friends I’ve met over the weekend whom I chanced upon asking the same quintessential quarter-life-in-crisis question: “what’s my life purpose?”
I recall my 25-year-old me asking the same life-shattering-yet-also-trivial self-reflective query.
I had some clues I picked up along the way how to answer it, but nothing really concrete solution yet up to now. Now at 29, it still is pretty much an unresolved “issue” for me.
As we grow older, the personal fulfillment we equate to life purpose becomes a lesser burden for us once we realize that the “life purpose” we once seek literally just equates to “personal happiness.” And when I mean “personal,” I don’t necessarily mean “my narcissistic self.” But some form of happiness which starts and relates back to “little ‘ol me,” e.g. happiness I bring to my family and friends, etc.
And so I eventually stopped asking for life purposes and work toward things that bring me happiness. I ask myself then, “what really makes me happy?”
Pause.
I discovered that I am at my happiest state when I revolve around my passion points:
When I sway my arms to freedom and gyrate my way to a street dance.
When I lose control over the driver seat and submit myself as a mere passenger on a long road trip.
When I invest time and effort volunteering for kids, with the hidden mischievous motive of teaching myself how to act like a kid again.
When I see babies laugh.
When I see my parents laugh.
When I see my sister succeed.
When my partner and I, at times, don’t take life as seriously as we really should.
When my friends and I recall funny memories from a distant past and it gives us tummy aches afterwards.
When I think of my past crushes and unrequited love.
When I get a good massage and the masseur/masseuse hits those right spots where it hurts the most.
When I see blue skies, white sand and turquoise seas and think of them as future retirement spots.
When I successfully complete a seven-day diet. When I guiltlessly stumble upon new food havens and succumb to food-porn afterwards.
When I tick off everything in my long to-do list.
When I organize parties and meet new friends.
When I edit photos and videos from my travels as reminder of the blissful journey I just had.
When I drink Kopi C to get that extra kick in the morning.
When I finish one chapter of a book and embark on the next few pages.
When I brave new adventures in destinations I’ve never discovered yet before.
When I listen to perk-me-up songs that enliven up my spirits.
Can we really find our life purpose — or is it really just something we should frequently chase in our lifetime? Should we just then focus on our personal happiness in the hopes it’ll bring us closer to our end goals?
Happiness is a choice, whether they are frivolous or not. They may be big or small. But the good news is, we can always choose to be happy.
It ultimately brings inspiration which will help fuel us every single day as we work toward our life purpose.
What makes you happy?
