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To Live a Meaningful Life, Remember This One Thing
Advice for when you feel like you’re just going through the motions
To many people, there’s a specific order to life: Do big things, then make an impact. We often think we must hit arbitrary goals in order to matter. We say things like:
“Once I score a book deal with a major publisher, then people will pay attention to what I have to say.”
“Once I become a CEO, then I can make decisions that will create an impact.”
“Once I make millions of dollars, then I can help those in need.”
And so we spend our lives trying to hack our days, get ourselves noticed, and climb some proverbial ladder.
But this type of thinking will only lead to disappointment. The moment you reach those goals, you’ll be off on the next chase. You’ll set another milestone for yourself, and another, constantly redefining the point at which you can start to make a difference.
To live a meaningful life, you must know that one thing is true: What you do already matters. Philosopher William James, one of the founders of pragmatism, said it best: “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
Unhappiness comes from believing that no one cares about what you do. It’s easy…
