Purpose
We just spent a little time visiting with a friend who is about my age (I'm 39) who says she feels lost and out of sorts.
We actually know several people about the same age that are wrestling with similar issues of questioning what their purpose is or trying to figure some things about themselves in a quest to feel happier and more fulfilled.
I have ample respect for the fact that these types of problems can be very complex and serious. But I also believe that a lot of people that are wading through this angst have the ability to change their own lives in order to get on the path to finding what they are looking for.
I started practicing yoga ( my thing, doesn't have to be anyone else's) about six years ago. Yoga is a physical and mental training. On the mental well-being side of the ledger is the notion of living in the moment. Fair enough that the meaning is very subjective. I take living in the moment to mean not getting worked up about things beyond your control. For example don't get upset when your flight is delayed. Clearly a delayed flight is beyond your control. Negative energy you create from something like this can only be harmful.
Another important part, to me, of finding yourself is to set out a plan to do the work you want to do and live in the place you want to live. This can't be done without some risk taking. Back in the mid 1990s I knew I wanted to manage money for a living and I knew I wanted to live in Walker (the little area outside of Prescott where we do live). The idea of managing money from a little cabin in the woods is my idea of perfect.
We set out on a path that took seven years to get where we wanted to be. Along the way there were career risks taken, we moved to California ( but did not sell our cabin) and a realization that I might not make any money for a while as we took these risks. When I left Morgan Stanley I did not have enough clients to make a living. I took work around Walker doing logging, construction, painting and so on because that's what needed to be done. I don't particularly care for logging but I knew what I wanted and what sacrifices needed to be made.
I got lucky. After just a couple of months of this type of work I was able to attract more clients and I also got work writing about investing. I knew that writing would have to be part of my marketing plan. I am pretty good at my job but I am not good at telling people that. I quickly got published in Barron's which opened all sorts of doors to me and I was on my way.
I was mentally prepared to only be able to pay the bills for a while because I was doing what I love.
Another door opened to me when we moved to Walker that I had never thought of before, public (sort of) service. As soon as we moved here full time we immediately got very involved with the Walker volunteer fire department. We both went to classes to become basic firefighters, I have since taken a lot of advanced classes as well. I served on the board as treasurer for two years and this year I am the vice-president. I have also moved up as a firefighter and am now the co-assistant fire chief.
I give a lot of time to the fire department and I really enjoy the way my role there has evolved. I see myself being very involved for years to come. This is one purpose in my life. I enjoy it, it is a way of giving back, the work is important (we live in a high fire danger area) and it is completely different than anything else I have ever done. Purpose.
Although this is clearly my own value, I think giving yourself to something you believe in and want to do is a great way to find purpose in your life.
I have another big thing I do that I think gives of my time and myself which is my stock market blog. I started blogging 15 months ago for several reasons. I am convinced that people need help managing their money but very few people would ever hire someone to help them. As soon as I learned about blogging I knew that this would be the start of a new type of information about investing that people could access and become better investors. This new type of information combined with new investment products will be big. I do not know if there will ever be a serious financial benefit to me as a blogger, but I do know I want to have as big a role as I possibly can in this do-it-yourself empowerment.
Based on the email I get and the amount of external attention my blog has had I believe I am on to something.
Lastly I find being a dog person to be very fulfilling. If you have dogs you understand, if you don't have dogs I hope you get one. The two-way unconditional love is very important for people's mental health.
Lifestyle also plays a role in this discussion. I believe people need to exercise, eat reasonably well and generally take proper care of themselves.
As a matter of personal philosophy I believe in living below your means. My parents had some real financial problems in their 40s which I believe is my motivation for not wanting to ever have to worry about money. We can't all be rich (and I am not) but we can all watch how we spend.
I can't imagine anyone has read this all the way through but I would encourage anyone to think about what they want, be prepared to make the sacrifices needed and give something back. I am convinced that purpose, sense of self and happiness can be found this way.
We actually know several people about the same age that are wrestling with similar issues of questioning what their purpose is or trying to figure some things about themselves in a quest to feel happier and more fulfilled.
I have ample respect for the fact that these types of problems can be very complex and serious. But I also believe that a lot of people that are wading through this angst have the ability to change their own lives in order to get on the path to finding what they are looking for.
I started practicing yoga ( my thing, doesn't have to be anyone else's) about six years ago. Yoga is a physical and mental training. On the mental well-being side of the ledger is the notion of living in the moment. Fair enough that the meaning is very subjective. I take living in the moment to mean not getting worked up about things beyond your control. For example don't get upset when your flight is delayed. Clearly a delayed flight is beyond your control. Negative energy you create from something like this can only be harmful.
Another important part, to me, of finding yourself is to set out a plan to do the work you want to do and live in the place you want to live. This can't be done without some risk taking. Back in the mid 1990s I knew I wanted to manage money for a living and I knew I wanted to live in Walker (the little area outside of Prescott where we do live). The idea of managing money from a little cabin in the woods is my idea of perfect.
We set out on a path that took seven years to get where we wanted to be. Along the way there were career risks taken, we moved to California ( but did not sell our cabin) and a realization that I might not make any money for a while as we took these risks. When I left Morgan Stanley I did not have enough clients to make a living. I took work around Walker doing logging, construction, painting and so on because that's what needed to be done. I don't particularly care for logging but I knew what I wanted and what sacrifices needed to be made.
I got lucky. After just a couple of months of this type of work I was able to attract more clients and I also got work writing about investing. I knew that writing would have to be part of my marketing plan. I am pretty good at my job but I am not good at telling people that. I quickly got published in Barron's which opened all sorts of doors to me and I was on my way.
I was mentally prepared to only be able to pay the bills for a while because I was doing what I love.
Another door opened to me when we moved to Walker that I had never thought of before, public (sort of) service. As soon as we moved here full time we immediately got very involved with the Walker volunteer fire department. We both went to classes to become basic firefighters, I have since taken a lot of advanced classes as well. I served on the board as treasurer for two years and this year I am the vice-president. I have also moved up as a firefighter and am now the co-assistant fire chief.
I give a lot of time to the fire department and I really enjoy the way my role there has evolved. I see myself being very involved for years to come. This is one purpose in my life. I enjoy it, it is a way of giving back, the work is important (we live in a high fire danger area) and it is completely different than anything else I have ever done. Purpose.
Although this is clearly my own value, I think giving yourself to something you believe in and want to do is a great way to find purpose in your life.
I have another big thing I do that I think gives of my time and myself which is my stock market blog. I started blogging 15 months ago for several reasons. I am convinced that people need help managing their money but very few people would ever hire someone to help them. As soon as I learned about blogging I knew that this would be the start of a new type of information about investing that people could access and become better investors. This new type of information combined with new investment products will be big. I do not know if there will ever be a serious financial benefit to me as a blogger, but I do know I want to have as big a role as I possibly can in this do-it-yourself empowerment.
Based on the email I get and the amount of external attention my blog has had I believe I am on to something.
Lastly I find being a dog person to be very fulfilling. If you have dogs you understand, if you don't have dogs I hope you get one. The two-way unconditional love is very important for people's mental health.
Lifestyle also plays a role in this discussion. I believe people need to exercise, eat reasonably well and generally take proper care of themselves.
As a matter of personal philosophy I believe in living below your means. My parents had some real financial problems in their 40s which I believe is my motivation for not wanting to ever have to worry about money. We can't all be rich (and I am not) but we can all watch how we spend.
I can't imagine anyone has read this all the way through but I would encourage anyone to think about what they want, be prepared to make the sacrifices needed and give something back. I am convinced that purpose, sense of self and happiness can be found this way.
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