Finding my why

Most people can tell you what they are doing. It is much harder to explain why.

I do not think your why arrives as one moment of inspiration. You have to find an answer, write it down and then live with it long enough to see whether it is true.

Arthur Brooks describes purpose as the belief that you are alive to do something. He suggests asking two questions:

1. Why are you alive?

2. What would you be willing to give your life for?

These are uncomfortable questions. That is probably why they are useful.

My method is to start with one unfinished sentence:

I exist to...

Then keep it somewhere visible for six months.

Every month, rewrite it. Remove words that sound good but do not help you make decisions. Check whether your work, time and attention actually point in the same direction. If they do not, either the sentence is wrong or the way you are living is.

The point is not to make it perfect on the first day. The point is to get closer to an answer you can use.

After six months, you should have more than a statement. You should have evidence.

This is mine:

I exist to expand what one person can achieve, so that where they start does not decide how far they can go.