How many people feel their life is lacking some sort of greater purpose or that they are wasting their life?

Question

Does anyone ever feel like there must be more then this....work 9-5, day after day? Or that they have some greater purpose or higher calling if you will that they are somehow missing?

Answer 1

I think we set ourselves such high targets in life, that the mundane and ordinary (which really keeps the world going) is deemed to be worthless and purposeless. I agree that one should occasionally introspect but don't dive into morbid brooding about a greater purpose. There isn't one. Look at all those who thought they were doing great things. When they are gone, the world still goes on. So if you can measure life in the little positive things we all do everyday, we can go without regrets when the time comes, and hopefully leave some pleasant memories behind of our passing through this time and place.

Answer 2

Right this moment I am feeling exactly THAT...Fallen into a rut!

It seems my life is no longer mine and I'm only a machine to work for others.  Even if it has a purpose &  its not wasted (because others need me),  I don't feel noble!  

I wish for a change!  A change that would be more fulfilling!!!

Answer 3

Contrary to popular belief, yeah, I feel as though something is lacking in me and it calls to me constantly.  The key is listening, I think.  It is not always possible but eventually it will happen and then the connection to something greater than myself will occur.  The idea of it I feel has already happened when I am in nature, see a very large tree or a waterfall or rapids.  It is impossible to think much of me in those circumstances.

Answer 4

Oh, where do I start.

Only we can give our life a purpose.

We should have a need to grow and learn.

We should have hobbies.

We should look after somebody in need.

We should  be accepting.

We should be nonjudgmental.

We should be kind.

etc.,etc.,etc.

My life is full of purpose.Some great, some not so great but just as important.

Ingrid

Answer 5

I have mine, clear.

It's here:

http://www.lifesip.com/change-the-world....  

Answer 6

Yes, i have a feeling a lot of people feel like this quite a lot. Life can get a bit routine and tedious at times and we wonder if we could or should be doing something better with our life. It is a bit of a vicious circle really because if we are always striving for something more then we cant be truly happy with what we already have, however, if we never try and aim higher we feel kinda stuck in a rut or routine. We aren't actually wasting our life, but i do know what you mean about this though (could we have done more?). I do think that no matter what our life consists of, we must try and be happy with what we have if possible, then if something better comes up, its a bonus...

Answer 7

Ok. As a person with distorted eating habits, my life revolves around food therefore I already find my existance non-worthwhile. I keep going back and forth in circles and doing the same things. Life is very repetetive. And I think about the future and believe I will worry about what I worry about now.

I feel at some points in my life that I'm 'asleep'- that's the only way I can describe it- being caught in such a pattern that thought and consideration of what I'm doing is meaningless, and sometimes I will suddenly wake up and the world looks different.

I don't know how to explain it. But I feel like I'm wasting life.

Answer 8

i feel as though i'm not really alive, i'm just breathing.

Answer 9

I have felt like that most of my adult life and most of this is all in how I choose to view each moment and how I choose to live my life. Of course if one is waking up doing what he she loves everyday and making a living from it then that feeling tends to fade...however I also think that it is innate in the human gene to constantly hunger after something. Their is always a greater experience waiting to be remembered. This feeling has always drove me to seek knowledge and truth, to piece things together as well as strive to serve my fellow man. To me their is nothing more fulfilling than to help someone out, and make someone smile. If you feel you have a higher calling, listen, and maybe you will hear the answer.  

Answer 10

Life is what you make it ... its a gift.  If you don't feel you are serving some kind of purpose then you need to get out and make sure you do! I feel that every day of my life is a gift and to use it as if it is my last. If you live like that they you won't have any regrets.

Answer 11

Ya, that's why I'm sharing all my best thoughts with you guys here at Y! Answers... I'm projecting my inner-messiah out to you the public...that you may take my sage-wisdom and show me the way... ; ^ ) .....

1) I say the above a little tongue-in-cheek... but ya, I'm stuck in this dichotomy of trying to find answers outside myself, and knowing that I must look within to begin that path...

2) Day to day its this back and forth... but questions like this appear from time to time; reminding me of the only path, the inward one, is the only one that will be of much excitement and uniqueness to my life..

3) Your not alone, in your frustration, and might I venture the innward-path is of a universal sort... because its unique to each of our individual personalities strengths and weeknesses.

Answer 12

Yes, I have felt that way .. for many years but I did find a solution !! No, I am not going to ask you to go to my website to buy a copy of a book or something ... i don't even have a website . ... not even gonna ask for ur email !! I will tell you here n now ,.... for free ... refreshing isn't it ?

Essentially almost all people feel like you do at least some/most of the time & that is due to our beliefs which shape our reality. # 1 belief being that the answer lies "out there" . It's always over the hills n far away in a different tax bracket or another lover's arms. Bcuz we believe this lie we never look where the source of our true happiness actually lies. Which is within ourselves.

This isn't pie in the sky idealism either. There is an exact method to this. You can practice what I am telling you in a very short period of time ( like less than 1/2 hour) & prove it to yourself. Today. Where you stand.

Basically , we have the capacity to be madly in love with ourselves & our lives no matter their present condition ( this doesn't mean you stop wanting to change or evolve either). But right where we stand is all the love n happiness we will ever need & there is always more on its way. All you have to do is open the "faucet" so to speak & let it flow.  

You do this with your focus. Whatever you place your attention on, you get more of. Most people view the world in a half empty cup of water sort of way. Others, while fewer in number, seem to have a happy disposition where nothing can bother them. There's a reason for that. No, you don't have to be born that way. You can learn to develop that outlook.

And the reward is Love itself. The kind of Love & Happiness & Joy you hoped would come in the form of riches or relationships, etc. While it can come in that form later. Today it will come in the form of the feeling itself. "Things" do seem to follow tho. No worries.

So here's what you do: In every life moment there is always something which is pleasing to you. Many things actually. The list is endless as you will soon find out. Simply focus on one, then another. Your goal is to make an emotional connection to these pleasing thoughts eventually. That has real power. But at first it is enough to think upon them...  one at a time. Til you notice a smile coming over you. Inside of you at first. Then a change starts to occur (this can take less than 10 minutes). First you begin to find it alot easier to find these things to appreciate or be grateful for (one term for this is an appreciation rampage). Then your outlook which was horrible before begins to change for the better. You seem less annoyed, even excited about things. You find you have more energy. What was bothering you before no longer does. It seems petty now. You feel lighter. Like you can do anything. Results don't matter as much as feeling good at first ( this is where results come from tho !!).

When we are down we are looking at everything we don't have. By looking at everything we do have & appreciating it (like loving it)  we can change our mental state & our mood & our outlook on life. This is a concrete change in your reality that you can experience now !!!

That is what happiness is. Not material things. But appreciating & feeling a connection with the things in our life now.

I know many of you won't try this & our being cycnical now as you read this saying " poor guy, he's really lost it". But notice you could easily prove me wrong in as little as 10- 20 minutes. Why not just give it a try. Yur way for how ever many years you've been alive & all the people around you isn't working obviously. Right ? So why not give it a go. You've got nothing to lose & I'm not asking you to buy anything or go to a websitec etc, .

I am just someone who was lucky enough to discover the key to happiness & Joy & love & laughter. And I wanted to share that all with you .

P.S. Try answering these questions as a way of getting started:

Who/what is my favorite person/celebrity/place/food/vacation spot/etc.  in the world ? Why ?

That is a long list n you know it !! Get Started !!  

Peace n Love  

  

Answer 13

At one point of time or other, every one of us has to answer this nagging question, and most of us 'd be telling that we are wasting our life.

This urge to seek a greater purpose, is in fact a stimuli, by which every progress is made and get the process of evolution going!

Answer 14

With the exception of saints or yogis every person feel this sometime in their life time.Its divine calling for the good of the person.