The Antidote to Misery Is Purpose Beyond Yourself

A note to young leaders.

Misery is self-absorption.

Misery’s motto is: “I was always on my mind.”

Go on: think about a time in your life when you were truly miserable.

I’m prepared to bet that it was also a time when your thoughts were consumed with yourself: your anxieties, your desires, your plans, your status among your peers.

But, it’s not all about you.

You’re just a single cell in a larger body.

Focus first on your family, then friends, and ripple outward from there to community, to city, to country, to cause, to liberty, to humanity.

But it’s not enough to just think about others – you must take action.

Just ask Elvis: “Little things I should’ve said and done, I just never took the time – but you were always on my mind.”

Misery is the malaise of our affluent age. Here’s a proven antidote for it:

Connect with something larger than yourself, a cause or relationship you feel passionate about. Make sure it’s always on your mind, but don’t stop there.

Remember to let it into your heart, then you can start to make it better.