I was about 6 months clean and sober before the feeling of being lost had become unbearable.

It wasn't heavy in a way where I wanted to go back, but it was heavy enough that it demanded attention.

The issue was I had no idea how to move forward.

All I knew was that standing still was no longer an option.

I had heard a lot of talk about the importance of finding your purpose, the value of meaning, all of it.

But, up until this point, they just seemed like some amorphous terms people threw out when they wanted to come off as an intellectual.

And the problem with taking on that pursuit was it felt like chasing some mythical creature—somewhere in the same realm I thought ideas like destiny and fate might call home.

So I had to simplify things for myself.

I needed something tangible.

I had to define what we were actually talking about when we discussed things like meaning and purpose.

And the best I could come up with at the time was this:

Purpose is what you're aiming at. Meaning is why it matters.

I stuck with that.

You can have purpose without meaning (just going through the motions).

You can have meaning without clear purpose (that feeling something matters but not knowing what to do).

Or, you can have what I came to realize I was looking for all along—fulfillment.

And feeling fulfilled in life, the best I could gather, was just ongoing alignment between what you do and why it matters

So I figured out what was important to me and I started aiming for it.

Family.
Health.
Knowledge.
Growth.
Helping others.

I stopped thinking in abstractions, I stopped dealing with the immaterial, and I found something concrete that worked for me.

I started walking forward.

And that reframe right there?

It was everything.

And what I learned along the way was that purpose and meaning weren't sitting at the summit either—

It wasn't dependent on the arrival.

They were found in the pursuit.

And they weren't really "found" at all, they were built.

Each step you take in the direction of what matters to you, that sense of purpose compounds and that sense of fulfillment grows.

So I could stop looking, and start building.

But I had to walk forward.

Listen—I don't know what matters to you and I'm not here to change your spiritual beliefs.

All I know is that if you're feeling stagnant or you're feeling lost, this is a damn good place to start.

And just because we find our way once, doesn't mean we won't find ourselves looking around for familiar ground later on.

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves to get back to the basics.

It's not about perfect clarity, and it's not about precise aim.

It's about taking action.

And I might not know what's important to you, but I'm sure you do.

So set your sights.

Take a step.

Keep moving forward.

From the depths,

Brian

Founder, Quit and Conquer

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P.S. What's something that matters to you right now? Doesn't have to be perfect—just honest. Hit reply and let me know.