Chapter Content
Okay, so, you know, I was thinking about this the other day, this idea of living a purposeful life. It's like, a tale as old as time, right? I mean, you hear these stories... like, some people, they say, die at twenty-five but aren't, like, actually buried until they're seventy-five. It's kind of a bummer, but it's true for some people.
Think about Siddhartha Gautama, that young prince. He was living this super luxurious life, all comfortable and stuff, and then, boom, he ventures out and sees all this suffering, right? Old age, sickness, death… an ascetic. It just hit him, you know? He realized there was more to life than just what he had. So he ditches the fancy robes and the prince thing and goes on this whole journey to, like, figure out how to overcome suffering. Ends up under a bodhi tree, gets enlightened, becomes the Buddha, and spends his life teaching others. Pretty amazing, right?
And it's not just a Buddhist thing either. This quest for meaning, it's, like, woven into the human experience, across different cultures, throughout history.
Like, in ancient Hindu traditions, they talk about dharma, your sacred duty. Basically, it's your life's purpose, what helps you navigate the unknown with courage. And it doesn't have to be, like, some grand, impressive thing. It just has to be yours. There’s this part in the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna is, like, about to go to war, fighting against his own family, and he's totally torn up. He asks Krishna for advice, and Krishna's like, "Hey, focus on your purpose. Even if you mess up your own dharma, it's better than doing someone else's dharma perfectly. You know, like, stick to your own path." That's a pretty cool idea.
Then, you’ve got the ancient Greeks and their idea of arete. It’s all about living up to your full potential. Kind of like the original self-improvement, I guess. They thought you should always be striving for growth and excellence in everything—relationships, knowledge, being a good person… you name it. And it's tied to this idea of eudaemonia, this state of flourishing happiness you only get from seeking meaning and purpose.
Or even think about the Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhism, right? That's, like, a clear direction for your daily life. Wisdom, ethical conduct, mental discipline... it’s a lifelong thing, and it gives people that sense of purpose. They call it the Middle Way, balancing self-indulgence with, you know, suffering, and that seems like a pretty smart way of doing things.
And it's not just, like, organized religions, either. The vision quest, for example, that was a spiritual thing for a lot of Indigenous cultures. Going off alone, meditating, fasting… figuring out who you are and where you fit in.
And then there's the ikigai of the Okinawan centenarians. Iki is life, and gai is effect or worth. So, it's basically your "reason for being." People visualize it as four overlapping circles: what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for. But you know, I think that fourth circle can be a little… constricting. You don’t have to get paid for it to have a purpose, ya know?
So, yeah, that whole hero's journey thing? We’re all on that. We're all looking for our purpose. Facing trials, growing, and finding ourselves along the way. It’s in all these stories we've been telling each other forever. It's about escaping the fate that's written for you and creating your own destiny, you know?
But in today’s world, there are a lot of things trying to throw you off track. Things that want you to just… settle.
And that's where the real fight comes in.
See, the world kinda wants you to just stay the same. It wants you to be normal. Jeff Bezos quoted this thing from Richard Dawkins about how, you know, left to itself, a body just reverts to a state of equilibrium with its environment. And Bezos was saying, like, "How much energy does it take to stay distinctive? Because the world is pulling you to be typical." And, man, it's true.
You gotta fight to maintain your distinctiveness. Constantly. Relentlessly.
That means choosing your own story, not someone else's. The mom who chooses to be present with her kids instead of chasing promotions. The entrepreneur who goes after the crazy idea. The graduate who takes the creative path. The retiree who learns a new language. The middle manager with the weird hobby. The ninety-year-old in the astronomy class.
Fighting normalcy, that’s the most important thing. Living on your own terms, realizing your full potential.
That’s what building a life of Mental Wealth is all about. It’s about living according to your own purpose, believing in your ability to grow, and finding your own peace in a crazy world. It's a life of victory against just going with the flow, and it's a life that's so worth fighting for, you know?