Seeking Purpose in Times of Uncertainty

Why noticing what drives our choices is essential.

Intention is powerful.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "If we have our own why of life, we shall get along with almost any how." No matter the nature of our circumstances, we can passionately pursue meaning and purpose.

The why is our guiding light in times of struggle and adversity. The why is our compass on the roadmap of life.

Perhaps it is not the why that is unclear at present, however. The how may feel worrisome, lonely, exhausting, and endless. The how may feel like walking through the thickest of swamps without the physical company of those we hold most dear.

In the face of adversity, however, there is one constant: our ability to intentionally choose how we respond.

During times of great uncertainty, making even the smallest of choices may feel like walking through a minefield. Every step could have devastating consequences.

Why? Because every step does have consequences.

There is an important lesson to be learned during this time that we can choose to see if we are willing. The power of our choices is amplified now, exaggerated due to the pandemic and the risk that pervades our communities.

However, in life before and surely in life after the pandemic, this truth will remain: every choice has consequences. In the quiet of isolation and the urgency prompted by disconnection, we can choose to reflect.

We can examine our choices as if taking inventory. As humans, our big picture goal is to stock the shelves of our lives with actions that represent who we want to be and what we want to stand for. Inevitably, as the fallible humans we are, our actions fall short sometimes.

The act of taking inventory, though, is our opportunity. This is where we have room to move, to change, and to grow. We can choose to pay attention, to examine our actions in the context of what matters most, and we can do so even when we do not like what we see. This act of paying attention and reflecting gives us the freedom to choose how we respond.

In the painful moment when we notice that we have fallen short, we can then use that information, should we want to, to make a different choice in the future.

Choice in these times may necessitate excruciating intention, and it begs the question - shouldn’t it always?

There is only one truth: for every moment of life, we are breathing, and we are choosing. When our breath feels at risk, what will you choose?

Choose first to notice.