Do you have a sense of purpose? Whats your life like?

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I try to look after my mother (who is ironically as disabled as I am, just in different ways).

I try to maintain the property where I live.

I try to be a good friend (more selfless than selfish).

And I partake in my interests.

I guess I fail and succeed in equal amounts for the things other than my interest.

For 34 years I tried so hard to conform to the socially acceptable purpose(s) for my life. I finished school, got a career, fell in love, got married, bought a house, started raising two kids...I was exactly what I was "supposed" to be.

I was miserable.

I wasn't living my life; I was living the life and being the person I was told to be. I didn't even know I could have my own needs, wants, preferences and the like.

Turns out, I got really lucky. I had a strong bio drive for reproducing and raising kids, so that worked out good. I love animals. And the love of my life is even more so now. My career is fairly adaptable to the life I need. But all of those were my way of squeezing in little bits of who I really am into that set of cultural expectations.

My point is that if you are going to have a purpose in life, make sure it is *your* purpose. If you find you have no purpose, perhaps you are mistaken and your purpose is simply to be, and to be content when you can. 200 years from your death it's highly unlikely anyone will care what your purpose was because it won't affect their purpose. So live for you.