My Life Goals

I have recently been asked what goals I have for my life. I think I am someone who deeply cares about leading a purposeful life and the very purpose of this blog is finding such. However, I don't think I have recently articulated what my life goals are and I believe this to be a very worthwhile exercise. Really speaking, I think I only have one life goal:

To be in a position where I can provide the most benefit to the world given my abilities.

I believe that making a positive difference is not simply doing good wherever we can. While that is certainly a noble cause, I think this might limit our potential. I don't think the our current social and economic system is well-suited for unconditional altruistic behaviour. If we were unconditionally altruistic, we would put ourselves at a disadvantage which ultimately limits our ability to make a difference. For instance, if I give away all my money, I won't have any left to support myself and my family; becoming a burden on others but also being constrained in what I am able to do, since I won't be able to pay for internet access, a computer, travel, or books to help me learn and grow. Thus I believe in order to bring good into the world, we need to establish a position for ourselves from which we can do so effectively. First and foremost, I believe this requires financial independence, so that we can use our time towards bringing good into the world rather than being preoccupied with earning a living.

Bringing a benefit to the world for me involves preserving and nurturing the natural beauty of the world as well as to limit the suffering of conscious beings, allowing them to be in balance with their nature and flourish through pleasure, joy and happiness. How I am going to do that given the abilities that I have, I am not so sure yet. I think I am a creator and designer at heart, so I hope to be able to do this through something I create (rather than through my direct actions, which I believe I am not as suited for).

After giving the answer above, the person asking the question understood that I would be trying to build a legacy. For me, nothing could be further from the truth. I do not care much if people are going to remember me after my death or not (one reason being that I am in full acknowledgement that however long I might be remembered for will surely be utterly inconsequential on a cosmic scale). I simply want to bring as much good as I can within the live that I have been given.

Picture Credit: Pixabay