The Negation of Why

There’s a lot of hype these days about the need for a purpose, that to achieve we have to have a why.  And it’s true.  Having a mission does give us motivation.  Knowing the why helps us inspire our teams.  Developing a purpose provides the roadmap.

I recently read a passage, however, in a novel:  Acceptance:  A Novel by Jeff Vander Meer:

“She knew where it would all lead, what it always led to in human beings – a decision about what to do.  What are we going to do?  Where do we go from here?  How do we move forward?  What is our mission now?  As if purpose could solve everything…”

It got me thinking about the appeal of not knowing your purpose, of not having a mission.  “The allure…(of the) negation of why”. 

Without a why, you can more easily be mindful.  You can more fully enjoy the journey and be in the now.  Once in a while, we need to negate the why.  It’s ok, healthy even, to just do things, for no specific reason, to simply be in the now.  We don’t always need to achieve to succeed.

Sometimes, success comes from negating the why and just being.

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