“Commitment gives you freedom because it hones your attention and focus, directing them toward what makes you most healthy and happy.”
Mark Manson
When I was younger, I lived in a state of constant distraction. Whenever there was something new I was immediately interested in it. As I grew up, I quickly realized that the modern world offers infinite possibilities and that experiencing everything was not only impossible but also unhealthy. I felt as if my attention was pulled into dozens of different directions and that I wasn’t making progress in anything. So in a way, I’m writing the short article I wish I could have read when I was younger. In the book Essentialism, Greg McKeown says “Almost everything is noise, and a very few things are exceptionally rare.” To narrow our possibilities down, we need commitment. But since there are so many options out there, what should we be focusing on?
I recently came across a quote by Carl Jung that referred to this specifically. He said, “What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Herein lies the key to your early pursuits?” This is something that author Robert Greene discusses at length in his book Mastery. The idea is to reflect on your childhood and think about the activities that made you forget about everything, including the passage of time. In other words, commit to something that puts you in a state of flow and you’ll find your purpose.
We humans need purpose and without it, we feel lost and meaningless. The battle and struggle that comes out of pursuing that purpose is what’s important. Richard Nixon once said “The unhappiest people of the world are those in the watering places like the south coast of France, and Newport, and Palm Springs, and Palm Beach. Going to parties every night. Playing golf every afternoon. Drinking too much. Thinking too little. Retired. No Purpose.” It’s never too late to find your purpose in life, so go find it.