The Art Of Introspection

“It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.”

That might have been a quote from Churchill, but the late leader’s words ring true in the minds of millennials even today. "What is my purpose?" has been a question most individuals spend most of their lives trying to answer. Purpose perennially lies in the subconscious of people – within reach, yet hard to discover.

The world moves faster, people are informationally-richer, and the expectations set on individuals in and outside the workplace are only rising. Staying afloat amid all these complexities, is enough of a task. Hence, getting the time and space to dig deeper into questions of the self is a rare luxury that gets carpeted under the chaos of our lives until it finally can't contain itself. If the $11 billion self-help industry is any indication, there comes a time when clarity of our self-purpose needs reflection.

Millennials have been an active audience in the discovery of this question, wanting their time and energy to mean something more. At the workplace especially, a recent study by Korn Ferry consultancy indicated that 63% of millennials under the age of 35 are keen to work for purpose-driven organizations. Working from pay check to pay check needs to be complemented by a connection to a larger whole, in order for their experience at work to truly be fulfilling.

Purpose Is A Multi-Dimensional Concept

While our occupation plays a large role in defining us, it is not the only place people search for purpose. Ask a parent or caregiver, and they would attest that raising a good child into the world is purpose enough. A talented sportsperson who has recognised his/her skills in a given sport, would consider pursuing the field what they were “born to do”.

An article by the John Templeton foundation that sums up various studies on human search for purpose highlights that the nature of purpose changes at different stages of life. One of the studies revealed that 30% of college students considered themselves to have a clear purpose in life, in contributing to their chosen fields. When the same individuals were asked about their purpose in mid-life, it shifted towards caregiving and providing for family. Purpose, in that sense is multi-dimensional in nature and cannot be derived from just one avenue of our lives.

Artists And Their Clarity Of Purpose

Artists could arguably be some of the most purpose-driven individuals on the planet, with a gift of clarity on what they are meant to do in their lives. One of the many reasons a majority of artists do what they do, is because they identify with the purpose of creating and expressing through their art forms. Their work not only stems from their innate creativity and skill, but also from their consistent introspection on the self and the world around them. Whether it is a singer-songwriter talking about a forlorn love, or Shakespeare speaking of betrayal, or Picasso painting a self-portrait, every artist's work is an embodiment of those introspections. Through those introspections comes a clarity and inexplicable satisfaction of feeling whole and purposeful, learning and exploring the beauty of their craft further.

The clarity of thought, and the freedom with which artists create, is a journey that a privileged few in the world have the gift of experiencing. This isn't to say that all artists have clarity on this question of purpose, however there is still much that the purpose-seekers in all of us can learn from artists and their process of introspection. From experiencing their perspectives, and the world of artistry they create, perhaps we can find the space to ask the right questions about the world, and our place in it.