A Common Purpose We All Can Have For Our Lives

After years of contemplation, I finally have an answer

Life is a journey of self-discovery.

I can say these words confidently today, but I had no idea what they meant a few years back.

Life, back then, was a routine job.

I thought it was supposed to be that way — doing what everyone else was doing and living like everyone else was living. In the initial years, I did my best to live up to the benchmark set by my parents and society.

My previous lifestyle involved no risk-taking, no experiments, and blindly following some random people’s footsteps.

It was going well, but I wasn’t satisfied.

While I tried to keep at it, I felt hollow and like something was missing from my life.

The fire inside me was flickering.

During the same time, I stumbled upon the world of self-help. The self-help genre may have gained some backlash in recent times, but you can’t deny the empowering and life-changing influence it has on people.

After spending years reading articles, books, trying multiple careers, and self-introspection, I have reached a point where I have some idea of what I want to do with my life.

It’s something that not just me but every human being can strive to achieve in life.

It is to explore our creativity.

Exploring our creativity is validating our being.

I want to explore my creativity as a writer, as a designer, as a creator, and most importantly, as a human being.

We are all so creative in so many different ways and so many other domains. If we don’t explore that, we’ll never know who we are and what we are capable of doing.

Creativity doesn’t have a full stop.

You can be creative in n number of things and discover yourself along the way.

When we permit ourselves to mull over that thought, we find ourselves.

At 20, when I decided to drop out of engineering to pursue my passion for art and design, I had no skills and no idea how it will benefit my life.

I was only following my curiosity.

When I started studying design, I learned about art and creativity. My course didn't restrict me to learn only graphic design, but it taught photography, visual merchandising, art history, and consumer behavior.

I explored and discovered that I could not only design but could click good pictures and create a professional ensemble for myself and my work. It gave me a chance to work for international brands like Fosters and FHM.

It was a great discovery, and I wouldn’t have learned it if I had continued my journey to become an engineer.

As an experimentalist, I was always involved in extracurricular events; that's when I stumbled upon Quora and started sharing my stories with the world. I had no intention to be a writer or to garner millions of views on my content. I was only expanding my creativity and exploring new things about myself.

I am still unsure what I will be doing in the next 4-5 years; however, I am confident that exploring my creativity and the possibilities of what I could be will never stop. As Coldplay's said

If you never try, you'll never know.

Don’t you fancy the idea of finding out all you can be?

We all have different goals and plans for our lives. Some of us are still in the lifelong journey of self-discovery, and most don't care about the concept of purpose and are happy with their nihilist approach towards life.

But one thing we all can have is a purpose that allows us to explore all our creativity. Exploring our creativity is finding and trying all the possibilities of our being.

It’s not about going out into the world and trying everything everyone around you is doing. It's about finding all the things you want to do and doing that with conviction. Doing things that speak to your soul.

Every year and in every new phase of life, you’ll find something new about yourself. You will see a new light and a new oomph.

Don't ignore it when you see it; not many people are lucky to witness it.

Walk towards it.

It might turn out to be the only thing you're waiting for all your life.

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” — Edward de Bono