What do you think you should follow? Pleasure or Purpose?
The one seems dreary and monastic and boring.
The other is full of shining lights.
Tough choice? Not really, it’s easy.
You might think- why not get pleasure- we’re on earth for a very short time.
It makes sense. You’re not getting any younger and time will only pass you by.
But have you thought about what will you do once you get the pleasure? The creature comforts, the lifestyle you desire, that last brownie.
What then?
Well, then comes the sense of emptiness, the gnawing feeling that’s something’s missing.
You’ll need more chocolatey-brownies, a bigger house, newer appliances, faster gadgets, a more expensive holiday. And twenty years later, you’ll still be chasing that pleasure- just with bigger bills, and more hours that you have to put in to pay those bills.
But what if I told you, you don’t need to make a choice? You can choose both.
In reality, pleasure and purpose and inter-wined. They are not two different paths.
We are told we need to make a choice because to try and get both is double the effort.
It takes more focus, more dedication, more commitment. More resistance to a life of ease.
But if you follow your purpose, you will find a lot of pleasure- pleasure of creature comforts, but also, the pleasure of self-fulfillment- a life well-lived. A reason to get up every morning. That feeling of things being right with the world. Right side up and sunny side up.
If you only follow pleasure, you will not find your purpose. That’s the deal.
Instead, you’ll find yourself in a trap- on a hamster wheel you’ll never get off.
If you’re very lucky, you’ll get a second chance in life- to do things right- to pursue purpose.
But most people are not able to make that change midway. They get so trapped they can’t pull themselves out.
Don’t put your purpose on the back-burner. Put it in the forefront of your life, and you’ll discover that everything else falls into place. After all, the universe wants to help you in your purpose. You’ll get all the worldly pleasures you want, and all those things will work together to fuel your purpose.
But if you only follow pleasure, you will always feel empty. You’ll never experience the feeling of fullness.