Many can define the human experience as a shared reality of all people, of all kinds. Something we all have in common across cultures and countries.
To me, the human experience, that brings both meaning and purpose into our lives… are our relationships. How we interact with those around us. The people we’ve loved, the lives in which we’ve touched. This is something all humans experience.
But some would say otherwise, that meaning and purpose are a result after you achieve, succeed, excel, strive, and climb the corporate ladder. They say your life is purposeless until you create a business, become wealthy, have the dream home, the dream cars, own multiple properties, and are at the so called “top.”
To have it all figured out, surely that will give you purpose, right? Surely then your life will mean something.
But even the most successful are not content with their toils and hard work, even after attaining it all they are still unhappy.
We work hard, to be great. We strive in this life and on this earth, to leave “our mark.” Even when we achieve a goal, we make another. At last you reach the “top,” but is it enough?
Some say happiness is relative, that you can buy your happiness, that losing everyone around them is worth the climb to success.
You can become a founder or CEO, you could invent something unforgettable.
But the truth is simple, while we strive to give our lives meaning and purpose, we’ve forgotten the human experience.
If we spend our lives striving to make sure our mark is left on the world, we will eventually forget to leave our mark on the hearts of the people who mean the most to us. On the hearts of those who know us and love us.
More times than not it won’t be your loyal employees speaking at your funeral about what it was to truly know you. It won’t be the media and news reporters who wrote articles about your inventions and business. And it won’t be the people clinging close to you for status, opportunities, and connections.
But rather, those speaking about your legacy will be your children, your siblings you grew up with, your parents who raised you so diligently, and your friends who grew with you through different seasons.
In a world where working harder and harder seems like the answer, never forget that to be human is to find meaning and purpose in your relationships rather than in your striving and achievements.
Your money, work, business, and inventions will never love you back, but your people will.
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