People without purpose invest heavily in the illusion of other people’s lives
I did not understand how impactful this quote would be until I had time to process it. A few months ago while talking to a teen, I ask her what she wanted out of life. I was expecting her to say something to the effect of wanting to be successful at a career or making a difference in the world. She responded with much seriousness that she wished to be like Kim Kardashian further inquiry revealed that she wanted to be famous, light-skinned, a sex symbol and wealthy. In her mind this is what represents success; this is what it means to be complete, in her mind this is what it means to have people positively view her. I don’t know if I was more shocked or disappointed but what I do know is that I had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. Kim Kardashian may be a wonderful human being by the world’s standard but if her life is what real success is then the world is doomed.
With the advent of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms information about everybody’s life is just a click away. Various postings of daily activities can be viewed from sun up to sun down; nothing seems to be the sacred or off limit. People who are confused, unsure of themselves and others who are ignorant seem to be wasting valuable time investing in the fantasy lives of people they consider important. There is nothing wrong with being interested in the lives of those we admire, people we can draw inspiration from to chart our path to success, but it is very unhealthy and unsettling to invest so much time in someone else existence that you forget your own. It is even more disturbing when the people we find most interesting have several question marks in their lives on their journey to fame and fortune.
People who have not found a purpose for a living tend to see the lives of those they admire as more important than their own. They search the web daily with reverence and worship at the altars of videos, tweets and posts not realising that the time spent to do this could be employed more productively. What sense does it make to invest so much of your valuable time and energy in the fantasy life of someone who will never be in a position to help you nor has no intention of helping anyone like you? Kim Kardashian and anybody else you give the devotion to have already made it big by whatever means necessary while you are burning away resources investing in their lives. Isn’t it sad that we tend to know so much about these people, what they wear, eat, where they go for vacation and even how many times they use the bathroom yet many of us can’t tell what it is that drives us?
Find your purpose and stop mirroring your existence through the lives of other people because they are no more valuable or important than you are. The people you admire took chances and made use of opportunities presented to them. Whether or not you and I agree with the outcome of their success the world knows their names. Their lives may be fantasy or reality, but it will do us no good to celebrate them if we are not willing to find our path. People without purpose will continue to allow their light to diminish by the perceived better station of those they admire and worship. In the end, it is what we believe about ourselves that will satisfy us and help to forge the path to our purpose.
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