We are pushed to choose a life path at a very young age, in the Great Wide World. In High School, barely able to grow a scraggly little mustache, we are supposed to decide on what it is that excites us. What we want to be, when we grow up. The career path we should embark upon. Do I really want to do that for the rest of my life? Let’s see; a doctor, a physicist, a teacher, a cowboy or a tele-marketer. The list is long and time is short. Choose a study, pick a University and get on with the program.
It’s no wonder that 20 years or so later, we are in crisis as we realize the path we are on doesn’t have a heart. Half way through life and trapped in a passionless existence. Trapped by the fear of security – frustrated, depressed and anxious. A life well lived needs depth, meaning and experiences. If we’re not growing, we’re dying. We need to do what we love and security be damned.
“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.” ― Joseph Campbell
Motivation
Our natural tendency and the education we receive focuses on results, motivating us towards comfort and security. That is extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand tends to steer us toward what we want to experience even though that path is more stressful. If chasing our dream were easy, more of us would do it. Stepping into the unknown is stressful but the experience provides the opportunity to feel the rapture of being alive.
“If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” ― Joseph Campbell
Plan to have your mid-life crisis before you make it to mid-life. Have it while you’re still young, you’ll have a lot more time to experience the rapture of being alive. Fearlessly chasing your bliss down the path that leads to the unknown. Experiencing the adventure that resonates with your innermost being. You are never too young or too old to change paths and follow your bliss. Your destiny awaits.