Susanna and I eat out regularly. We have some great choices within walking distance of our home. Even though I could recite these local menus from memory, I still take time to look at them. Maybe there’s something I haven’t tried yet that I really need to order.
I believe we’re intrigued by novelty. You know which restaurant has novelty in its menu? The Cheesecake Factory. They have 250+ items across about 20 pages, including roughly 40 cheesecakes! There are just too many choices for my brain to review to make the best decision for that meal. Even if I lived across the street from a Cheesecake Factory, I would not go there of my own free will!
Choosing your meal is not a life-or-death decision. You would have to admit that we’re confronted with an overabundance of choice in our daily lives. Pick up your phone and you instantly go into a rabbit hole of reels being fed to you by the algorithm. We no longer have to think for ourselves. We can turn off our brains and keep scrolling as we take some time to “relax.” I can’t tell you how many people almost ran into me this last week as their heads were buried in their phones.
You would think that since everyone is scrolling, no one thinks about the big questions in life. However, Pew Research found that 46% of U.S. adults regularly think about meaning and purpose. At least once per week. That’s around 122 million people wondering what their lives are about.
But thinking about purpose doesn’t mean you know what yours is. When you don’t know your purpose, you can wander aimlessly, just letting life happen to you. I’ve been in this spot myself.
There is another way. I believe the key to knowing your purpose starts with understanding your natural gifts and how you can use them to help others. These are the gifts that you were born with. It’s never too late to discover yours and change your life. If you’re sick and tired of feeling overwhelmed with a Cheesecake Factory menu of life choices, you’re in the very best place to make a change. More on that next week.
See you next Sunday.
P.S. Are you sick and tired of living life on repeat, hoping things will get better? If you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, reply to this email with the word “PLATYPUS,” and I’ll reach out. I read every email.
If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone you care about. Thank you.