Someone asked: What does the ideal life look like?
Some people answered: I have a job I like, a good salary, a warm family, my own interests and hobbies, and I can go on a trip.
What do we look like in real life? We may have a job we don't like, a low salary, but it takes up most of our time.
There will also be confusion and difficulties, but the days still go on.
The picture source is the Internet, invaded and deleted
The author of this book, John Stryleky, has the same life as us.
MBA, working for many years in large corporations, repeating the same work day after day, lost and confused.
The difference is that John, when he is lost and at a loss, chooses to explore himself.
At the age of 32, he and his wife put on a backpack and traveled around the world, covering a distance of 70,000 miles in 9 months.
He wrote his experiences and insights into "The Café at the End of the World", which was translated into 39 languages within a year and became popular all over the world.
After reading this book, we will understand that in fact, each of us is "John", and we will encounter confusion in life, but as long as we find the meaning of life and know what we live for, the confusion in life will be solved.
01 Confused because I haven't found the meaning of life yet
When we are overwhelmed by work and life, we all want to relax, take a vacation, watch a movie, go shopping, or arrange a trip.
But it usually goes into a cycle like this: get motivated, let off steam, and then get motivated, and then vent again.
The picture source is the Internet, invaded and deleted
John, the protagonist of the book, takes a week off for a week because of the worries of work and life, and comes out to relax.
He, like most people, worked hard to get into college when he was in high school, and when he went to college, he worked hard to find a job, and after he worked, he worked hard for a promotion.
While driving, he chose a road he didn't take because of a traffic jam and ended up getting lost. Just as he was panicking, he found a café at the end of the road.
Hungry, John was like grasping at a life-saving straw because he hadn't eaten for a long time and the tank didn't have enough gas.
Just as he picked up the menu, he noticed that this café was a little different.
The menu reads:
Why are you here?
Are you afraid of death?
Are you satisfied?
Everyone comes to this world with a mission and a mission, and mission and mission are the meaning of life.
People who find their mission in life are self-consistent and satisfied, and people who follow the steps step by day, and are always pushed by life.
A person who knows why he exists defines the meaning of his existence, which is called "Purpose For Existing" in the book and "PFE" for short.
People who know their PFE will do hundreds of things for this goal.
The picture source is the Internet, invaded and deleted
Taiwanese cartoonist Tsai Chih-chung, who has been determined to be a painter since he was a child, has been firm in his goals all his life, worked tirelessly, and finally became a comic master.
Goethe said, "The most important thing in life is to have a high goal and to achieve it with talent and perseverance." ”
A person with goals knows what he should do and what he should not do, and spends his time and energy according to his goals.
People who don't have a goal will be pushed along by things, doing things that others tell them to do, or things that must be done in front of them.
02 External voices that hinder us from realizing the meaning of our existence
Even if many people find their purpose in life and what they want to do, they still stop moving forward or keep making preparations, what is the real reason?
Anne from the café gave John the best answer.
The biggest reason to spend a lot of time preparing for what you want to do, rather than doing it directly, is in the information you receive every day.
You have a pen of savings in hand, and the real estate company gives you a beautiful advertising slogan: own a home, feel a lifetime of happiness.
So you work hard, make money, and fight to buy a house.
If the house is a necessity of life, there are many other desires in life that are encouraged by advertising.
Those slogans tell us that if we can't have those products, our lives don't seem to be complete.
If we blindly pin our happiness on certain products and services, we will find ourselves in financial trouble, constantly trying to make money and satisfy our desires instead of our life goals.
With more and more desires, more and more bills to pay, so we need to work non-stop and put in more time and energy, so that we don't have time to do what we really want to do and get stuck in front of us.
The picture source is the Internet, invaded and deleted
In life, whether you have to have something to be complete is not someone else's decision, let alone an advertiser's decision, but your own decision, and it has nothing to do with others.
This reminds me of the children who are working hard now, and the general view in society is that you have to go to a 985 or 211 to get a good job in the future, and there is no way out if you don't go to a good university.
This argument has some probability, but it is not the whole story.
The famous cartoonist Cai Zhizhong's highest education stayed in the second year of junior high school.
After graduating from high school, Chen Yinge studied in the West for 16 years, studying at the University of Berlin, the University of Zurich, Harvard University, and the Ecole Supérieure d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Chen Yingge knows that a diploma is just a certificate, and what he values is knowledge, and Cai Zhizhong also knows that the biggest dream in this life is to become a cartoonist, and they will not change the PFE of their life because of the voice of the outside world.
Only by grasping the key points and blocking the noise can we realize the meaning of life.
The affairs of the world are divided into the affairs of God, the affairs of others, and our own affairs, and the only thing we can control is our own affairs.
We have the final say in our lives.
03 Life needs to sail in the waves
If a person knows the meaning of his existence, how can we do it in the process of implementation?
Cathy from the café tells John the story about the green sea turtle.
Cathy was diving in the sea when she spotted a green sea turtle and tried to keep up with her, so she kept paddling, but couldn't catch up with her, and was finally left far away.
Encountering the green turtle again, Cathy began to observe. She found that the green sea turtle had been following the movement of the sea.
When the waves push against the shore and the green turtle travels in the opposite direction, it floats up and paddles, simply allowing itself to float in place.
When the waves rise in the direction of the ocean, the green turtle will speed up its paddle and ride the waves.
Green sea turtles don't compete with the waves, but skillfully harness the power of the waves.
And Cathy, whether she is following the trend or going against the trend, chooses to keep paddling. The more you swim in the reverse wave, the more tired you are, and the energy is exhausted and your physical strength is exhausted when you go along the wave.
The picture source is the Internet, invaded and deleted
If you use this inspiration to achieve your life goals, it is to do things that are relevant to your life goals, and don't spend a lot of time on things that hinder your life goals, such as watching videos, watching dramas, ineffective communication, and blindly mental internal friction.
"Cafe at the End of the World" says, "The people, activities, and things that want to consume my attention, energy, and time, but are not related to my PFE, are the reverse waves that rush to the shore. The people, activities, and things that can help me achieve PFE are the positive waves that rush to the sea. ”
Elon Musk said in a public speech that Tesla's purpose of existence is to make cars better, and all the company's funds should be used for R&D, manufacturing and design, not advertising.
Because of the goal of focusing on the quality of the car itself, Tesla is developing better and better.
World Super Champion Mayweather said: "I am where I am today because I am focused on what I have to do. ”
Focus on your life goals to do things, put in the time and effort, and your dreams will eventually come true.
If you use your energy on unrelated things, you will have a hammer in the east and a mallet in the west, and there will be no refinement.
It is enough to do one thing well in life, and to do it well.
05
John, who was lost in his work life, unexpectedly came to a café, and through a conversation with a wise man, he realized that the reason why life is lost is because he has not found the meaning of life.
There is a saying: When a person knows what he is living for, he can endure any kind of life.
Find the meaning of your existence, abandon the noise of the outside world, implement it firmly, and you will eventually meet the best version of yourself!
A complete life is not about fine clothes and food, not about being rich and rich, but about finding the meaning of one's own existence and a heart worthy of this life.
I'm Su San, I like to read, I like to write, thank you for reading!