Around the end of 2023, I decided that I had enough, literally and figuratively.

I had many of the markers of success that, by western societal standards, should’ve made me happy. 

I had a nice home in an upscale neighborhood. The home had a dedicated office from which I could comfortably work remotely. I had a library of books, some of which I purchased with the intention of reading but never got around to it. 

I had a wardrobe of clothes, some of which I never wore.  I went above and beyond to style my home with furniture that created a nice “vibe.” And most significantly, I had a decently paying job that allowed me to finance my lifestyle.

Despite all of this, something really never sat well with me.  Every time I found myself commuting to work, sitting in meetings, or spending my days focusing my time and energy around some corporate goal that was not in alignment with my personal interests and curiosities, I couldn’t help but to feel like I was traveling down the wrong path in life.

I get it.  By society’s standards, I should’ve not only been content, but I should also have felt like I’m doing the right thing by climbing the corporate ladder, building a comfortable and convenient life for myself, and continuously growing my financial assets. 

Well. I don’t think so.

You see.. I have been on this health and spiritual journey for many years now, and with each passing year of deep introspection I felt like I have slowly gravitated toward a greater state of clarity regarding what I want for myself in this life.

It dawned upon me that everywhere we look, every direction we turn, we are bombarded by messaging from marketers, from our peers, and even from prospective romantic partners that distract us from what we truly want, and instead try to convince us that things we don’t actually want or need will bring us happiness.

So for me, the first milestone was understanding that the prevailing narrative places consumeristic contingencies on happiness, and the second was getting to a point where I began to fundamentally reject the notion that the pursuit of more, the pursuit of comfort and conveniences, the pursuit of things that convey symbols of status, etc… will bring true and lasting happiness.

In fact, I started to believe that the pursuit of more actually does the opposite. It leads to unhappiness. It leads to a lack of gratitude, and a mindset of scarcity because we’ve given external factors the power to dictate our internal state of consciousness. 

And when we hand that power over, the world will try it’s best to convince you that your unhappiness, your boredom, your discomfort, or your inconveniences will be cured if you buy whatever thing, service, subscription, they are selling.

But in the process, doing so moves us even farther away from the aspects of life that actually make us feel content and fulfilled.  I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d argue that financial security and independence is pretty high up there on the list of desires. 

I’d also argue that being healthy in mind and body is high up on the list of things that people really want for themselves.  I’d argue that being able to spend time however, wherever, and with whoever people wish is high up there on the list of satisfying life circumstances. 

The irony is that consumerism moves us away from these ideals. It places us in a state of greater financial insecurity.  And because the financial insecurity persists, we must now depend on a job that, for many, has deleterious effects on physical and mental health. And because we’re working this job, we also can’t spend our time with who, how, and where we please.

Only after I genuinely started to believe that the pursuit of more stuff, and the consumerist lifestyle, is not only misguided, but actually a major hinderance for me and my life. 

I knew that significantly downsizing and simplifying my life would be a major piece of my grander life strategy. Getting rid of most of my material possessions would be the first step in creating more space for myself, physical, financial, and mental space, to explore pathways that enable me to truly feel gratitude, and to be fully present in the journey of life as an explorer… To ultimately realize my life’s purpose.

I always say that finding what makes you feel fulfilled, finding your purpose, is not necessarily an easy task. 

So I use a process called “anti-visioning” to find my greatest pain points in life. Then I use those pain points to direct me towards my purpose. 

Or another way to look at it is that your most basic purpose in life is to alleviate the pain points that are present in your life today.