The Philosophy of Purpose

Something I have been thinking about:

What is it which *really* motivates us?

Is it a sense of ‘purpose’ which motivates us and drives us? Is it curiosity which drives us? Is it a lust for more which drives us?

What is our true ‘primum mobile’ (first mover) which motivates us to do anything in life?

What if I know what my purpose is, but I have a hard time motivating myself to do it?

For example, I know my purpose in life is to teach, share, learn, photograph, make art, share art, blog, etc. But I am not always ‘motivated’ to do so. Why?

Typically I lack motivation when I am either bored, under-sensitized, under-stimulated, or sleep deprived. When I sleep great, have eaten well the night before (a meat-heavy meal), I generally have an easy time ‘jumping straight into work’. Or when I am in optimal physiological conditions, I typically wake up with all these creative ideas I desire to blog and write about. However when I am in sub-optimal physiological conditions, I often lack thoughts, and lack motivation.

Theory 1:

The root of motivation is physiological ‘overwhelming’ or physiological over-flowing with gratitude and joy in life.

In other words:

Perhaps our great motivation to doing things in life and creating things in life is when we are hyper-healthy, or uber-healthy– and the art we create is a result of the ‘overflowing cup’ we have in life.

The root of our motivation comes from our muscles

Typically when I am in the best and greatest mood to do anything, I have great vigor and strength in my muscles. For example, the times when I am able to successfully do a new one-rep max in any of my lifts (let us say deadlift), it is essential that I have slept great, and have great enthusiasm in my muscles.

Theory 2:

The root of our enthusiasm comes from our muscles.

Therefore if you desire more motivation in life, perhaps the best focus is on your own human physiology and muscles. Towards a deeper and more critical view on the philosophy of muscles and philosophy of physiology.

Once again:

If we lack strength in our muscles, we cannot move (motivate) ourselves to do anything.

As a practical tip, this means:

  1. Prioritize and optimize for your sleep (sleep above ‘productivity’)
  2. Optimize your diet (more meat, more fatty protein/red meats, and fewer food substances and drink substances which weaken you). I have found through experimentation that I cannot tolerate alcohol, coconut-products, and dairy-products (milk, cheese, butter — even though I find these hugely delicious). If I get a small stomachache from my insensitivity to these foods, I literally feel my body weaker.

Force yourself to relax.

Being able to relax, to think and meditate… a great way you can think, reflect, and re-energize yourself on your purpose in life.


PHILOSOPHY by KIM

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