The Happiness of Pursuit: Find the Quest that will Bring Purpose to Your Life

Can a simple list give you purpose and grounding? Don’t knock it until you try it. If nothing else, it’s a great starting point to becoming more intentional with your life.

Lesson: Don’t forget to debrief. You may need another goal at some point, but be careful to process before jumping back into the grind.

The first lessons were about the practical aspects of pursuing a quest. If you want to achieve the unimaginable, you start by imagining it. Before beginning, take the time to count the cost. Understanding exactly what you need to do, and then finding a way to do it, makes a quest much more feasible.

Instead, Elise uses the secret that allows “makers” like her to thrive: She clearly defines her projects, and she breaks them down into multiple parts. When she has success with one project, she applies the same format to others. The medium doesn’t need to be the same, she told me, but the process for working on them can still be.

“It’s better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of one you don’t.”

“It has become ever more clear to me that if I had spent my life avoiding any and all potential risks, I would have missed doing most of the things that have comprised the best years of my life.”

If you can’t wrap your head around going everywhere, or producing a symphony with hundreds of performers, or undertaking any of the other quests I’ve described so far, it’s important to remember that dreams tend to grow as you pursue them. As you gain confidence, “I can do this!” becomes “What else can I do?”

Another way to think of it is this: Regret is what you should fear the most. If something is going to keep you awake at night, let it be the fear of not following your dream. Be afraid of settling.

Dissatisfaction + Big Idea + Willingness to Take Action = New Adventure

ultimately assessments of a quest’s worthiness depend on the result. Sometimes life itself is risky. There are few goals worth pursuing that are totally risk free.