The Search for Purpose
Discovering Our Unique Role and Impacting the World (Originally Posted to Medium on 08/26/2024)
“To be, or not to be: that is the question.” These famous words from Hamlet have echoed through time, capturing the tough choice between dealing with life’s struggles or trying to avoid them. Most of us have heard this phrase in one form or another, but what does it really mean? Is it still relevant to our lives today, or is it just an old saying with no real depth?
In reality, Hamlet’s question is still very relevant. It makes us think about a timeless issue: if we choose to keep going — if we wake up every morning and face the challenges of the day — how can we make sure our lives have meaning? How can we avoid just going through the motions until our time is up? Truly living is more than just getting by; it’s about embracing both the good and bad moments and finding the courage to make a difference. Every step we take requires effort, but we need to believe in our ability to keep moving forward.
Life can be overwhelming. We often find ourselves stressed out, stuck in situations we didn’t choose but have to deal with anyway. This can make us feel frustrated, angry, and exhausted, just going through the motions to get by. So how do we decide to live in these circumstances? It’s easier to face challenges when we see a reward, but when it feels like all we get from dealing with stress is another workweek, it’s draining. The key is finding value in what we do every day.
In today’s fast-paced world, we often link value to money, but finding real meaning means looking deeper. We need to spot what’s broken, what needs improvement, and use our unique talents to create positive changes — both in our jobs and personal lives. When I use terms like “product” and “pain point,” it’s not to make life sound like a business. It’s to show that the same ways we solve problems at work can help us deal with everyday issues.
Think about what value really means: everything we humans have created, whether on purpose or through evolution, has been driven by the desire to make life easier, help others, and move forward. Over time, society has twisted this idea of value into something that’s mostly about money. But true value is so much bigger. It’s about the positive impact of our actions on ourselves and the people around us.
If we think of a “product” as anything that creates value, then the choices we make every day are the “products” that bring value to our lives. There’s also something else at play — an invisible force, like “gravity,” that pulls us toward certain paths, opportunities, and challenges. This gravity isn’t just about winning or losing; it’s about the connections that link our thoughts, actions, passions, and the world around us.
Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.” The things we do today might not make sense right now, but we do them hoping they will make sense later. This invisible gravity helps connect those dots, creating the story of our lives. Every decision, every action is like a dot on our life’s map. We might not see the whole picture now, but as time goes on and we look back, we start to see how these dots come together to show our true purpose and impact.
Sure, some might say that even if we try our best, things might not get better. But fear and faith are like two sides of the same coin: we can choose to believe that the unknown will be bad, or we can choose to believe it will be good. Only the positive mindset — the one that pushes us to take action, even if we don’t know what will happen — leads to real change. This is about falling in love with solving the problem, not just the solution, and trusting that trying is worth it.
Living isn’t just about being alive; it’s about being seen, making a difference, and leaving a lasting impression. Every interaction we have, every person we meet, shapes a different view of who we are. Our existence is really a mix of all these different perceptions. We might try to control how others see us through what we say and do, but these perceptions are mostly out of our hands. Still, every choice we make influences them. Each decision adds to the impact we have on others, becoming part of who we are. It’s this combination of how we affect others and how they affect us that truly defines our existence.
To make a difference, we have to take action. Without action, nothing changes, and no impressions are left behind. This is at the heart of Hamlet’s question: “To be or not to be.” Do we choose to live, knowing that we will make mistakes, experience pain, and face loss? Or do we choose not to live, avoiding the risks and rewards that come with being alive? Even choosing not to act is a decision that shapes our existence. The real question isn’t whether we will make an impact but what kind of impact we will choose to make through our actions — or our inactions.