Course – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

How do we know we are on the right path?

There is only one north, and the same is true of purpose in life. What happens when, for some strange reason, we discover we are on the wrong path, and how do we get back on the right one? I love the analogy of the endless ways to reach a destination. Deep down we know there is a huge variety of directions, routes, roads and trails. What we cannot know for certain is whether the road or route we chose is the best one. What intrigues me most is reading the lives of people who were on one path, discovered it was the wrong one and then had the courage to admit the mistake and set a new course. The question is: how do we realize we are on the wrong path?

I enjoy, in fact I am fascinated by, biographies of people who lived, fought for and professed Marxist ideas and eventually, with a hard swing of the helm, turned toward the ideas of liberty and the free market. How is that possible? As far as I have come in life and in my reading, the first trigger is empirical evidence. It may be the single biggest trigger, because some things simply cannot be kept or swept under the rug. Going into that data would take me far from the spirit of this post, but the evidence is there and the information is impossible to ignore.

The second trigger has to do with morality, and this is where a person’s true purpose begins to show its first signs. Any act guided by purpose cannot harm another person or other people. In other words, the end does not justify the means.

Third comes the leap into the existential void that follows the question, "Well, what do I believe in now?" It is hard to uproot a set of values and a belief system overnight. In almost every case I find that, after that swing of the helm and a period of reflection, the person comes to understand their life purpose, or better put, the route that will lead to their objective of objectives. This leap into the void can only be made through an act of faith, where in the end what we seek is the hope of being better off than we are today. Hope is what drives us to discover new paths that show us our life purpose truly exists, even if we have not yet been able to put it into words.

In these extreme cases I have seen that such swings of the helm matter at any age, and that beyond humility they take courage in the form of vulnerability. It is hard to realize that what we held as our purpose was only a short-term goal. It is just as hard to commit to something so long-term and fight with discipline every day to achieve it. What does give us the best chance at long-lasting satisfaction and joy is having a reference point and living by it. That is why I love it when Jesus tells us, "I am the way, the truth and the life." In the end, imitating Him is the best way to reach God and, above all, to live a full life answering the call to live out my life purpose.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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