There is something you were meant to do. The fortunate among us know what that something is and are moving toward their goals. But for every person that has the “something” figured out, there are multitudes who haven’t. Many only know that all is not right with their lives. They feel an emptiness inside, an uneasy void that will never be filled by a life of greater means, but rather by a life of greater meaning.
I fell into the latter group for the longest time. For years, I did everything “society” expected of me. Land a good job? Check. Buy the nice house? Check. Get married to a wonderful woman? Check. Start a family? Check.
But what next? Was I supposed to then find a better job? Buy a bigger house? Continue an endless cycle that would never satisfy, repeating it over and over until the checklist, and I, were exhausted, with nothing left to do but check-out? I wouldn’t trade my family for anything, but I did come to the dawning realization that a stable job, working toward a retirement that may never come, was not my path in life. Yet, that knowledge did nothing to show me what was the path. I was ready to make a leap, but to what?
It was then I recognized that I was on a quest, a journey to discover what I was supposed to do with my life, and that, was the first leap I was supposed to make. Once I realized that my short-term purpose, was to find my long-term purpose, I felt energized. I had a goal. The work drudgery of my “good job” was bearable because I leapt into the unknown where I was free to discover what really mattered. I’ll admit, there was much fumbling in the dark, sliding my hands along the walls of the world for a light switch that might illuminate my path, and nothing clicked for a while. Nothing clicked until I turned the search inward and probed my memory to find some old dreams I had cast aside where they languished, nearly forgotten, in the recesses of my mind.
In Make the Leap – Part 2, I’ll reveal the dreams I set aside and how I returned to them. But in the meantime, if you are one of those who sense something is not quite right with his or her life, don’t get discouraged. You are in great company. Many successful people did not discover their true purpose until late in life. What’s important is you make the commitment, and leap into the unknown, to search for it.
Been traveling a bit so getting back into the swing of things.
Tracy, always glad to see you here. I’ve been following your journey as well. Here’s to keeping the growing pains at a minimum.
Ricardo, Good to know your leap paid off for you. Thanks for the advice on Gravatar.
Anita, It’s great to have you join us.
Karen, Your cousin is smart. We can’t wait for everything to be perfect before we do the things we want to do, in essence, live our lives. But waiting is what lots of people do. If we wait too long, we turn around and our lives are over.
You are not the only one who ponders about these questions. I too am wondering about it. The crippling economy affects everyone in the end. I’ve just read recent news on the banks and I look at the current situation here in Singapore. I think its going to be get worse before it starts to ease out. Mentally I am prepared for that. And in Singapore, many people my age and maybe yours too, are also delaying a lot of things in life. I think it shouldn’t. My cousin decided to heck about the economy and go ahead with his wedding which is next month. I think he’s lucky. Not everyone is so fortunate to find the other half who is rare, attractive and everything. And yes family is important. There is no life with your own parents, siblings or with your special someone even when you think you have all in the world. Most importantly, you would have nothing if you don’t even know what is important in life – looks count but heart counts big time and long time !
Cheers !
Great post! I so relate to this. Love the way you describe your thinking process, how you tell the story. I found your site via Positively Present. Glad I did. I will be back. Thank you for being so open and sharing your story with us. Take care, A.
There’s nothing wrong with not knowing where you are or what you’re meant to do… If you feel in your gut the urge to try and test something new, then I say go for it! As the title to your post says, "Make the Leap." I think that ultimately, you’ll (and I’m referring to everyone) feel glad you did.
I know that I’ve been in that place before and I took a leap. And sitting where I sit today, I’m glad that I did 🙂
Hi! Totally sleep deprived so nothing profound to add, just that I love this. I’m currently in the process of really figuring out what my dream looks like and I have to say, it’s awesome. I do feel energized and alive most of the time, although it hasn’t been totally without growing pains.
Can’t wait to see part 2!
Carol, Glad it was timely. Good luck with your leap.
DB, You crack me up. I always look forward to your witty comments.
PP, Read your post and we’ll have to compare favorite movies. I think we’ll have several in common.
Saundretta, The Alchemist was sitting on my bookshelf and I just pulled it a few weeks ago to reread. It’s sitting on my nightstand now.
Dena, You’re never alone. 26.2 🙂
I’m encouraged this post speaks to so many people. Feeling a bit lost these days myself so it’s nice to have that "I’m not alone in this" feeling. Always a pleasure to read your posts.
This sounds so loud because it means so much. Especially the part where you mention that you had to turn your attention inward. A lot of times we DO have this emptiness because we know we want SOMETHING but we can not figure it out because we neglect taking time to just look inside to find the answer.
This speaks to me. It speaks to everyone for sure. One of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho has a great quote from his book "The Alchemist" which says
"There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth."
I think the main challenge sometimes can be just turning the attention inward, because once you find what it is…I agree, you become ‘energized’.
Thanks this was great!
—Saundretta
Great post! I love it! It really ties in with my post today "This IS It." I feel like we all do the things we’re "supposed" to do, rather than the things we really "want" to do. We are meant to be a certain way and have a certain life and I think your post does a great job of reminding us of that. Thanks! 🙂
Dreams? We don’t want anyone out-swimming the school. Just be a good fish, work the "good job" and pay your taxes!
Sorry, back to the post…Loved the photo and your analogies are just great, "..sliding my hands along the walls of the world.." Priceless!! Take the leap, enjoy the entire flight, and pray Lucy_Cat isn’t waiting on the other side (-;
Thank you, Mr. Cockpit. As my good friend Sarah Dippity foreshadowed, I awoke this morning ready to make a signficant leap. Your message came to me just as I prepared my launch. Thanks. I needed that. Now, no more reading today. I’m ready to leap.