Meaning of life

Why I think doing what you love/want to do is important?

I have always thought that doing what you have to do is important in life. This is also what my Asian parents taught too. This is because this approach works in their generation where competition is lesser and survival is crucial. Overall, this approach is viable for their generation. I tried to do the same as taught. For example, IT Engineering

Overtime, I started to feel very tired with bruises physically and mentally. It feels like the whole torturing process is never-ending and you start to wonder what is the meaning of life. Why haven’t my parents thought of this? Probably because they are still surviving with their same approach. I guess I was pretty depressed with this kind of approach towards life.

Throughout the journey of seeking meaning of life, I have tried exploring various activities and failed in every attempt. I also stumped upon philosophical ideas of guru especially from India, interviews of well-known investors ie Warren Buffet etc, books of well-known entrepreneurs ie Tony Fernandez, Steve Job. I learnt and realized that I have to do what I love/want to do to live a fulfilling life. I also discovered that doing what you love to do has the following advantages:

a)    Persistence

Doing what you love/want to do gives you positive energy constantly whenever you are engaged in the activity. This indirectly makes you more persistent and you will never give up in whatever you are doing. If you are doing things which is not in line in your interest, it tends to drain your energy, and you will be soon out of the game before you know it.

b) Stay competitive

When you stay long enough in the game and keep improving yourself; and you never give up, you can beat competition easily. When you become the best in whatever you are doing, money will flow in like water because of the substantial value that you can offer. In other words, doing what you love/want to do gives you a competitive edge over others in being persistent. This works under the assumption that you keep improving yourself.

c)Fulfilling life

Doing what you love/want to do makes you feel fulfilled at the end of the day despite the fact that you might fail or you failed. For example, you might not be talented in what you love to do, hence, you might not be able to provide value that can be converted into substantial monetary rewards.

This idea started as a seed, when I had the opportunity to watch Ray Dalio’s animation and read about Ikigai, it further reinforced the seed and the need to do something in my life to execute the idea to let it bloom into a flower.

If you have an idea/vision/goal that kept coming back to haunt you no matter how long the time has passed, it will be wise to invest some time to think about it, do some research and take small actions step by step to achieve your idea/vision/goal. That is what I intend to do in 2019.

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