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Insight
The beginning of the search is marked by insight. You sense that great things are meant to come and harbor a profound feeling that there’s something more to this life than mere existence. Deep down, you have a calling within that wants to be made known.
This calling marks the start of a journey of self-exploration and a quest for purpose in the world. Initially, you find it hard to discern your calling, but your drive to decipher it is undeniable. This leads you to desire fresh experiences, unfamiliar faces, and novel ideas. Curiosity and an open mind become your guides. You are prepared to venture into the uncharted abyss that is your true self, revealing your strengths and weaknesses, your passions and fears. Simultaneously, you begin to fathom the broader significance of your existence, recognizing how your unique gifts can make a real difference in the world. You discover that you are an integral part of something greater than yourself.
As your calling becomes more evident, a thirst for risk and adventure takes hold. A choice materializes:
Either live an empty life or uncover the purpose your life is meant to embrace.
You opt for the latter.
To realize your full potential, you must step outside your comfort zone. Fear of failure will dissipate over time as you recognize that failure is an integral part of the journey, a catalyst for learning and growth. Likewise, fear of success no longer holds you back; you acknowledge your worthiness and the valuable contribution you can offer the world.
This discovery marks the outset of an expedition – the pursuit of purpose.
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“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
Stephen King, On Writing
“Here is a test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.”
Richard Bach, Illusions
“It takes courage… to endure the sharp pains of self-discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.”
Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love
It is only by risking ourselves from one hour to another that we live at all.
William James
“Every man has a vocation to be someone: but he must understand clearly that in order to fulfill this vocation he can only be one person: himself.”
Stephen Cope, The Great Work of Your Life
Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers.
Rainer Maria Rilke
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
William Ernest Henley, Invictus
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
E.E. Cummings
“Everything excellent is as difficult as it is rare.”
Baruch Spinoza, Ethics
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Excellence requires hard work, dedication, and perseverance. There is no easy path to success. However, if you are willing to put in the effort, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
Plato, The Republic
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.
Galileo Galilei
Many individuals lead lives devoid of purpose, appearing to be in a perpetual state of disengagement, even while engrossed in what they deem significant tasks. The reason for this lies in their pursuit of the wrong objectives.
To infuse your life with meaning, you must commit yourself to loving others, actively engaging with your immediate community, and creating something that imparts purpose and significance.
Based on the teachings of Morrie Schwartz (from Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom)
“I contain multitudes.”
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
Nelson Mandela
If you can’t cross over alive, how can you cross when you’re dead?
Lao Tzu
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You must live your life to the fullest while you’re still alive. Don’t wait until it’s too late to pursue your dreams and experience all that life has to offer.
“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic
“My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs.”
Tara Westover, Educated
Alice: “Please tell me which way to go, I don’t much care where, so long as I go somewhere.”
Cat: “Oh, you’re sure to do that… if you only walk long enough.”
Adapted from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Etymological explanation for Insight:
c. 1200, “sight with the ‘eyes’ of the mind, mental vision, understanding from within.”
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.
Unknown
“Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.”
Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
Albert Einstein
“It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurement — that they seek power, success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, and that they underestimate what is of true value in life.”
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
“Don’t just sit there. Do something. The answers will follow.”
Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The one who asks questions doesn’t lose his way.
African proverb
“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”
Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
“In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold.”
Rosamund and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility
It is easier to change oneself than to change the world.
Unknown
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Jen Hitze 