Why Having Life Purpose is Overrated

Written by: Mendy Linden, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

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In summary, having or finding purpose is overrated, everywhere you look people are talking about finding purpose and how to find yours. It has become a collective obsession, which keeps so many of us cornered.

You may be a person who is experiencing or had the experience of having some troubles in your life. You want to have a life purpose. The lack of purpose makes you feel empty and insignificant. We think that having purpose is the key to feel significant and valuable. That bringing value to others is the way of being important.

We crave feeling important, valuable, and meaningful.

We also think that this can only be accomplished by walking the path of purpose.

The internet and social media seem to be filled with people who found theirs and live it out, out loud. But for you, somehow, it doesn’t click, and it makes you want to cry.

You are looking and searching. You may start something, and halfway through, it doesn’t resonate anymore.

What is going on here? Why is it not working for me? What is wrong with me?

Nothing is wrong with you, darling. There are so many people like you, thinking you need to have a purpose of having a meaningful life.

Allow me to shine some light on what is happening here.

Spirituality and Purpose

When troubling things happened to you, there is a huge chance this has brought you to the path of spirituality. This path seems healing and soothing. Which it definitely can be. But it also carries a stigma that everything should be love and light. And if you can’t make it through the day without constantly checking your thoughts and emotions, something is wrong with you. Because so many others are doing it, right? There must be something wrong.

There is nothing wrong, what is happening is completely normal, but you don’t hear much about it because people are afraid of being rejected or seen as incapable. This is shadow.

Can you see how working towards the light is creating shadow? There is always shadow when there is light. We live in a dual experience. One can not be without the other.

Somehow we collectively decided that having a purpose is the way to save your life.

The Law of Pendulum

Galileo discovered this law in 1602. Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher. This brilliant man discovered that the full swing of every pendulum movement takes the same amount of time, no matter how big or small the swing.

How does this apply to us and our craving for having a purpose?

When the pendulum swings out the extreme right, it has to come back and swing out, through the middle, to the extreme left.

Therefore, if we fill our bodies with the good vibes of the light, we will eventually deal with the other side of the pendulum, the shadow.

Meaning, we have to maintain light practices, journaling, meditation, visualization to maintain the energy. It is hard work. Undoable for many of us.

Upper Limit Problems Comes With Life Purpose

According to the HuffPost, this is what Upper limit problems means: When we hit the upper limit, meaning when we achieve success, happiness, or wealth, our ego tends to bring us back down within the lines; in other words, our comfort zone, by giving us negative thoughts or behaviors that ruin what we’ve achieved – like losing all the money after winning the lottery or arguing with your spouse.

How does this apply to us?

It means that we need to shift our energy every day constantly. Can you see how the promised of living in the light has many ‘enemies’? How it is asking for constant work, alignment, adjustment, and management.

But Most Importantly...

Our experience of it not working out. The two reasons I gave here, pendulum and upper limit problem, fall into nothing compared to the evidence of our own experience.

There is no one-size-fits-all in this matter. It is like everybody wants to wear the same shirt, same size, same color. For some people, it fits like a glove. Others look pale and ill, and others don’t even fit in it. Believing in we all need to wear this shirt (a metaphor for: living in purpose) and not being able to be making us feel extremely miserable. So sad, because there are many shirts (different sizes and colors) that would make us feel absolutely beautiful.

We are an almost invisible group of people playing make-believe, working freaking hard every damn day, and still not thoroughly enjoying the fruit of the labor.

It is the belief that something is wrong with us and we are doing something wrong that makes us believe more in this ‘shirt’ than ourselves.

What is the alternative for living life purpose?

It is living in art!

The alternative is evaluating your need for purpose and detaching yourself from the need to be valued by others.

Unhook Yourself from the Grip it has on you.

Investigate if the grip of this big yet invisible burden is worth the quality of your life. In my humble opinion, it is not. It is a waste of the quality of life you can live if the whole Life Purpose thing wasn’t even a thing at all.

Stop Suppressing Shadow

By not allowing shadow, by looking away, by making everything well with the management of thoughts and emotions, we bypass what is happening.

We live in a dream state, especially when we are hooked to 1 truth. Our belief system is warning us of danger when we are presented with anything else. Generation after generation, we fear the dark, as we are scared of harmless spiders and mice.

We fear what we don’t know. When we need to enter an unknown space in the dark, we are scared of the things we can not see. Especially when it has a reputation. Our bodies resist. Our hair stands up. Every sensation in our body is telling us to get the fuck out. But what would harm you there?

There is this exhilarating feeling of exploring a new land. Exploring shadow is nothing less than this. Once we allow shadow in our life, it gets easier and easier. We get to know ourselves better and better.

Be Aware of the Trap Through

Nothing is more important than how you make yourself feel. Don’t fall into the trap of switching direction and going at this religiously without loosening the mindfuck of making it mean something. Don’t use it to become valuable and to matter.

Start to Make Your Life a Piece of Art That is Your Life Purpose

Not to show the world, not with the underlying energy of look at my art and value me, but from your intrinsic self-worth.

But to free yourself from the grip of illusion and manipulation. And you could say, that is your Life Purpose.

If you feel drawn or intrigued, join my Facebook group and connect with me on Instagram and Linkedin. You can also visit my website.

Read more from Mendy!

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Mendy Linden, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Mendy is the inspiring creator of the Self Leadership program ‘Living Free & Fulfilled’, about growing emotionally, mentally, energetically, and financially. She welcomes women to this self-discovery journey to uncover, understand and embrace their inner demons as a source of untapped potential and resilience to find their inner strength. Driven by an unsettling feeling of “not belonging,” Mendy is no stranger to the hurdles of life. The self-worth and preservation she found within are what fuelled her to embark on an adventure, transform herself into a happier and more conscious person, and become an intuitive guide for every woman wishing to change their life—helping them to rewrite their narratives. In the past 13 years, Mendy has helped clients, on a one-to-one basis, to achieve their life goals. She does this by providing her clients with the tools to face their fears and break the barriers that impede self-love, growth, fulfillment, and success.