Some personal-development books urge you to think about your purpose in life.
When I start thinking about my “purpose,” it’s easy for me to think vaguely and abstractly: my purpose is to love my family, to help people, to do good work, etc. All true, but not very helpful, because they’re so general.
It struck me one day that my purpose would have to be my purpose, with an emphasis on the “my.” I mean: my purpose needs to spring from the peculiar experiences, specific circumstances, and particular relationships that make up my unique life (as opposed to your unique life that you’re living over there).
So I started to think: what’s my real, quirky purpose? Because my life is going to look quirky to anyone not leading it. And so my life’s purpose should be correspondingly quirky.
In fact, I doubt that my purpose is real or genuine if it doesn’t strike you as quirky. If my purpose could be picked up and set in your life, with no adjustments needed, then it very likely lacks reality and the motivating power that even the slightest dose of reality (quirks and all) can bring.