What do YOU want to do?
A rather uncomfortable question for anybody. Forget about "Introduce yourself....". You can weave your own web of imagination at the interviews....but this is one self interview question to which I have always failed to come up with a convincng enough answer.
One easy answer would be...making lots of money, finding happiness in life, marrying a REAl hottie ;) and most of the other things which you would have heard of.
But what is your real purpose in life?
Like for instance...as far as I am concerned right now..crackin CAT this year would be my first priority. Fast forward a few years....gettin a job with a fat paycheck....a few more years down the line...expanding the family business, make loads of money..live life happily. I guess this is what I want to do. But does it answer my question? What am I here for? What will make me happy?
I guess I am thinking too much too early in my life. Cant seem to help it when I am in one of those What? Why? When? moods.....I think its high time I got myself a coupla beers :)
Meanwhile, you can try answering my question...WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN LIFE?
posted by Ram at Friday, July 29, 2005
5 Comments:
I guess ur anxiety is justified. I feel the same way many a times. May be its just an inherent feeling in everyone of us. The greediness to have a little bit more drives us throughout life. My answer to ur question ("What do u want to do in life?") is quite simple. Whatever I do, I want to be happy. I guess thats the same with everyone of us. However, happiness has different meaning depending on the situation we r in.
But I am always puzzled by one question which pops up in my mind now and then - What is the purpose of life?
12:20 PM
You need not do anything except live the life as it is
2:43 AM
Yes Perips...thats what I am doing!
9:32 PM
Well, you touched one of my favorite topics, a place where I have been for a long time. Based on my experience and understanding, I will write a few words, hopefully not sounding dogmatic, but as it is a subjective topic, it will have myopic views. So, please excuse me for strong statements.
These are the questions which every one of us go through, at different times in life. Mostly ignored, sometimes looked at like a puzzle, and rarely gone deeper to look into relevance in the context of one's existence in the world.
Happiness and Sadness are momentary spikes of our wave like life. We tend to avoid sadness and aim for happiness. Both are unavoidable entities, but to say we will plan to achieve it might be going a little overboard with our analytical skills. It is like saying “I will get a equation to make myself happy”. Are we so predictable? Sadness creeps in the moment we realise that we are predictable.
There are a lot of things, you can aim for and achieve in a grandiose manner, which the world has to take notice of. And, you could sit back in your easy chair and condescendingly look at and say "Yes, I have done it", and a touch of "By God's grace" in second thoughts, just to ward off any evil eyes.
The question however will pose itself back as soon as we have achieved whatever we set out for. If we set about posing professional goals, what after retirement, if we set our goals after money or fame, what after we have achieved it, If we set after getting a fitting life partner, what after marriage. All this is similar to dogs chasing running bikes on an empty street at night, stop the bike, & the dogs loose their goal of chasing the bike and now fear their own goal trying to reach them.
So, the fact that achieving anything can give you happiness or avoid sadness is ruled out. Now, If I have nothing to do to with any of the outcome, why am I here? am I here just for the number sake, to make up for the percentage of graduates reported in the paper this year, to add one to the population of the land, to be one more manipulated character of our education system, many such questions pose themselves.
One thing that can silence them for a long time, if not always is "Purpose". A purpose beyond oneself. If you set on a purpose of adding value to anything and everything that enters your life, a purpose of being one with system and yet having an identity of your own, a purpose of seeing basic needs of others fulfilled beyond the thirst for your luxury.
All theses are based on a need for contentment, a feeling of I have enough but will continue working for the sake of working. One can be contented in happiness & in sadness, in success & in failure, in oneness & in separation.
In layman's terms, it is like a savings account in a nationlized bank, with 4% interest, you enjoy the interest and keep the capital for more interest on its way. A greed for more possible returns in the market does not entice him, nor does the fear of the bank running away with his money exist.
Contentment breeds contentment in all the people involved and adds peace and prosperity to everyone whom you contribute into. It gives you the strength to climb back from any fall waiting for you, a confidence of raising to any heights as the situation demands, because the the purpose of your existence is a purpose beyond yourself.
It is the strength a deer has for its young one, it is strength a father has for his daughter's marriage, a strength a mom has for son's education and a friend has for just a smile on a friend's face.
We may say most of these are selfish in some means as it has self concern attached to it. My son/daughter/friend etc. In a way we can be extremely selfish and yet selfless. Say, the whole world belongs to me, I want everyone to prosper, I want add value to everyone's life, Why? because everybody belong to me.
Mind that this is not a national integration speech but just a commonsense thinking. Once you are aware of your need to help, there are lot of people who need help and your life is all set for an experience you yearn for.
This demands no change in life style or profession. It is all about awareness and change of perspective. More often than not, we are already in that mould and just need an external support to confirm our inclinations.
And ofcourse, if anyone thought that this is a maturity that happens with ageing, I am sorry, but I cant agree with it. Ofcourse, with ageing, I have seen people resigining to certain facts of life and ending up with a pseudo contentment.
There is a genuine difference between embracing life and resigning to life. That difference will show you the purpose of life.
4:41 AM
Thanks Vivek...for sharing your thoughts with me!
11:37 AM
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