How to Live with Purpose if You Don’t Have a Clue

How I stay focused every day

Alex Mathers
5 min readDec 15, 2023

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*Author’s note: this was written in 2017.

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

If I were to ask you to define your purpose in one sentence, could you?

Well done if you can. You are in the minority.

Most of us understand that living a fulfilled life requires this mysterious quality of having purpose.

I think the concept is confusing to most people. I never really understood it. I got it, but I didn’t.

I knew that it meant having a reason to live; something that drove me to live enthusiastically.

I knew that ‘purpose’ was a motivator that was supposed to go beyond life’s simple pleasures, like eating a cream-filled doughnut or a cheeky nap in the park.

Was that even true?

Being self-employed, staying driven is something I think about every day. It feels precarious to have no one tell me what to do next.

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Alex Mathers

Helping you develop a consistent writing habit with impact. Regular tips: https://www.masteryden.com