The 500-Piece Puzzle Of My Purpose

[Kindred]

These past two years have me to my wits end at figuring out my purpose. I have a general idea of whom I am. Regardless, I have always faltered in piecing it together into a small focused statement that I felt emotional about living every day.

Below is what I have written related towards defining my purpose. It consists of answers to purpose related questions I found around the internet. To keep it coherent, I cleaned up the mental chaos as best I could.

Personal
I like my determined hardworking nature, artistic talent, and capacity to learn quickly. I am happiest when I am with my friends and having a great time with them, or when I am working on one of my hobby projects. I naturally overcome problems and challenges of my own as well as those of other people, and have lasting persistence when others have given up all hope. What I feel is most important to me in my life is to grow as an individual.

I enjoy spending my time programming, drawing, speaking and learning other languages, composing music, playing guitar, learning, singing, writing, dancing, and exercising. Comics, mathematics, problem solving, computers, and stories also draw my attention and excite me.

I have succeeded as a self-taught programmer in a multitude of programming languages. My skills have reached a high level for having no formal education and still being young. People ask me for help with their technical problems and emotional grief, and compliment me on my wisdom and knowledge. They also often compliment on the artwork that I have put much effort into creating.

Beliefs and Values
Values I resonate most deeply with are challenge, determination, happiness, enjoyment, imagination, flexibility, and wealth. A perfect world to me would be one filled with fun and challenges. Somewhere where people worry less about trivial matters or just surviving, and live each day happily to the fullest with their family and friends.

Vision of an Ideal Future
In an idealistic future, I imagine myself financially secure and traveling all around the world meeting new people, making friends, learning about other cultures, and finding adventures. Being a business owner, an investor, a programmer, a teacher, or a comic book artist are all idealistic careers I see myself doing.

If I had the capital I needed, and supported by my family, friends, and my community, I would build a college or university. It would focus towards art, computers, or even both.

I want to contribute some form of entertainment to the world, whether it is a good story or a comic book. I also want to teach as many people as I can, not only to learn to learn but to wish to learn, and to enjoy themselves as much as they can.

If I were to leave a legacy behind, I wish to have made the world a more enjoyable place and to cultivate a wish to learn in others.

Although I can fit some of it together, it still looks like a 500-piece puzzle to me. I know I'll have to piece every piece together myself, but what I hope for is that you will help me clear out the clutter and doublethink.

I hope I am not being too eccentric posting twice in a row without contributing. It is one of my overbearing characteristics. However, in the past, I have received invaluable insight from everyone here.

Thanks for your taking your time to read this. I appreciate it.

[stevedevane]

Kindred,

First let me congratulate you on the effort that went into getting all this information together. You are one awesome individual.

If I were you, I'd start with the vision stuff first. I think this might, in effect, get you started on the outer edges of your puzzle. As you're working through those things, I think you'll find that the personal stuff and the values stuff work their way in as you go.

You might start by prioritizing what you have listed in the vision part. Then perhaps arrange them in some sort of chronological manner. I think that might give you an idea of what really gets you motor running.

Here's some questions you also might want to ask yourself as you go along:

Which of these areas excites you the most?

Which of these things do you look forward to doing the most?

Which of these things do I most need to accomplish?

If you were to accomplish all these things before you retire, which would you do first? Second? Etc.

Which of these things do you want them to write on your tombstone? At your funeral which do you want the person doing the eulogy to talk about?

I hope that helps in some way. Let me know if anything needs to be clarified. I'd love to know how the next step goes.

Best wishes,