Whenever we go through a slump — whether it is from boredom, failure, or depression — we’re forgetting how to live a meaningful life. A trap we fall into is thinking that someone or something outside of ourselves can give our lives meaning.
We think things like this:
• If I had enough money to do the things that I find meaningful, then I could lead a meaningful life. Since I don’t have enough money to do those things, my life has no meaning.
• I’m single and I won’t have a meaningful life until I am in a long-term relationship. I have to find love before I can be happy.
• My job is stopping me from leading a meaningful life because it is boring. I want a more glamorous job. It seems like I live to work.
• I am stuck with my habits. I can’t change. I have to continue leading an unfulfilling life because I can’t change my ways.
Those are limiting beliefs, aren’t they? Who would want to live with those kind of beliefs?
We each have our “if only” scenario. Look at your limiting beliefs now. If you’re not sure what they are, think of the goals you have that you are not reaching. Nobody can ever achieve all of their goals — if someone could, he would be aiming too low. Goals are neverending. What matters is the present, and the talents and gifts that we bring to it. What matters is where we can contribute and influence now. Focusing on our contributions and the use of our innate talents is how to live a meaningful life. It is how we can transcend all limits.
Your essence and your strength come from a power greater than yourself. At any moment a rich man can lose his material wealth; a beautiful woman can lose her physical beauty. However, the soul is connected to a transcendent and infinite power.
Your external limitations fade when you get busy fulfilling your purpose in life. Listen to the “still small voice” that speaks inside you when you remove external distractions from yourself. Tune in to your passions: What brings you wholesome joy? Where do you feel “at home” and useful? What gives you a lasting sense of satisfaction? Take the call of your soul and pursue it — it will sublimate your limiting beliefs. That is the foundation of how to live a meaningful life. ■
Exercise:
List a few of your limiting beliefs. Journal about how you can use your true self to transcend them.