Dude, You Couldn’t Be Purposeless If You Tried…

So I went on the internet for the first time today (absolutely believable, dude).  And, apparently, a lot of young folk aren’t doing all too great.

Yup.  Word on the street’s that a lot of young dudes and ladies are a bit confused about their lives.  Kinda lost.  Kinda aimless.  Kinda freakin “purposeless”.  Or so it SEEMS based on a lot of the sites out there…

It’s weird – to me – to even say it, really.

But these people feel stuck, I guess – between the certainty of college and the stability of career; between a time they were confident what their life and Self would become, and the challenge of ACTUALLY becoming it; between the reality of what they MUST do or endure to simply feed and clothe themselves, and what they WOULD do or try if the means to support themselves were of no concern at all.

It seems that for WHATEVER reason – whether because of that (umm) recession thing, or by their own changing interests – a lot of very awesome, very capable people are displaced in life and career from what they otherwise would or SHOULD have been; upset every day about facing another day doing less than they’re SUPPOSED to, or too different than they WANT to; clueless as to what or how to do something meaningful to them, but even more disgusted at the prospect of enduring a freaking LIFETIME of Monday mornings at the job they can’t quite stand.

And so maybe the greatest problem facing younger dudes and ladies today – perhaps more so than ANY before it (I dunno, I wasn’t there) – is this feeling that we’re not yet adult though we WANT it, and not yet grown-up though we’re TRYING; that too many are unemployed, or underemployed, or just wish they could do something – anything – than they’re now forced to.

That those WITHOUT the careers and paths they want and have long planned for can’t get them.  And those WITH the careers and paths they long assumed they wanted, no longer do.

And so we say they’re struggling.  And they say they’re “purposeless”…

But mostly, I just don’t get it…

Cause how can anyone be TRULY purposeless?

How can anyone wake up and say there’s nothing FOR them that day?

As if without a cause you’re causeless.  As if without a job, you have no work.  As if without your PREFERRED career, you have no…purpose.

But there’s never NO work to be done.  There’s never NO goal towards which to work.  You are never ABSENT a purpose.

Your purpose is You.  It’s ALWAYS you.  Whatever that may involve, and whatever that may mean.

And so your twenty-something years AREN’T lost because you’re unemployed, or underemployed, or just straight pissed with where life has led you, or you have led yourself.

Cause THESE years, like ALL years, are setting up the REST of your years.  And if looking around at all these people struggling or just damn depressed with what they’re doing or where they are should teach you ANYTHING, it’s that a lot of shit in life comes and goes – despite your efforts, despite your expectations, despite your degrees and experience even.

But if there’s ONE thing that will last your lifetime…it’s You.

YOU will last your lifetime.

So work on your Self.  Use this time, however disappointing it may be, and however imperfect it now is, and work on becoming a more confident, more diverse, more effing awesome dude or lady.  Make YOUR Self better for that time when you’ll NEED to be better – for when that opportunity comes, or that direction presents itself, or when you FINALLY figure out how you freaking WANT to spend the rest of your life.

So…unemployed?  Awesome.  Crappy job?  Sweet, dude.  Completely lost?  No prob…

Your purpose is not a job anyway.  It’s not a career, not an endeavor, not a goal.  It’s not a position, a possession, an achievement, or an accomplishment.

It’s your LIFE.  Your LIFE is purpose enough.  Your SELF is purpose enough.  And so long as you have the time and ability to improve it, you have the duty and responsibility to do so as well.

And so…

…things might not be going all-too-swimmingly-awesomely-amazing for you or whatever.  And your life might not be all lined up so freaking perfectly like you’d hoped or planned.

But none of that prevents you from working on your Self.  None of it prevents you from being and becoming a better person despite it all – from working on improving the relationships that have made it difficult for you before, from coming to terms with the fears and insecurities that STILL make it difficult, or from improving the broken or messed up Self that in some way led you here and – if not improved – will NEVER lead you there – where you want to go, where you hope to go, where you dream.

Cause it’s weird how many mysteries are solved when you strive to become your ideal Self.  And it’s amazing how many questions are answered when you DO become your best Self.

And so, if your unemployment gives you the time to improve your Self, your skills, your experiences – to make you a better person for the eventual job you will get – then your unemployment is your purpose.

And if your crappy job gives you the means to improve your Self, your skills, your experiences – to take the classes you’ve always wanted, or learn whatever talents you’ve always put off, or explore the travel that will make you a better person for WHATEVER life may have in store for you OUTSIDE of that job – then your crappy job is indeed your purpose.

So…

…being “purposeless”?

Wtf?

No way.

You may feel lost, but you are never ABSENT a “purpose”.

Your purpose is You.  And it can be nothing else.

You couldn’t be purposeless if you tried.

___

If you hearted it, share it.  If you less than hearted it, then “show” me by showing others.