Earning vs. Creating Value In Life

There was a time in my life when I was really confused, lost and I did not have a lot of joy. It was ironic, because my whole life had "turned out" just as I had imagined it would. I graduated school, I got a job and a nice place to live. I had friends, family, and a long-term relationship. Any time I looked to my future, it was filled with vivid, pleasant days. Yet, I wasn't comfortable because the part that I had not planned on was how strange it was to accomplish my goals. Once they were achieved, I didn't know what to do after that. This feeling of emptiness clung to me like a damp mist and for months I couldn't pinpoint the reason why. I tried all sorts of solutions: I switched from walking to jogging, I bought candles to create a home "nest", I read new books, I tried a different style of yoga, and so on and so on. As the days stacked up on each other, my turmoil mounted, just as my days became hazier in the mist of emptiness. My sense of time warped, each day seeming longer and more directionless compared to the last. I wondered how I would ever find true, authentic joy again. My sparkly future was now lack-luster. I had made the mistake of thinking that my entire life had "turned out", rather than realizing that we all keep on living and challenge ourselves every day. Life is all about growth and human beings are a a part of life. Life doesn't stay stagnant nor do we. Therefore, as life grows and changes, so should we. One warm day at the seaside, my entire purpose suddenly flipped and my life started in a whole new direction. As I walked past a lone woman walking in the sugar-white sand, a bolt of energy ran through me and I heard a voice say to me, "What if you could help individuals get over the thoughts and feelings that are causing them pain?" That question shattered the previous lens through which I viewed life. I now saw that I was to put my entire life to good use for other people. Despite the hot sun's rays on my skin, I got a chill, since I knew that I was back on my path to authentic happiness. I saw that I had achieved targets for getting my own particular, fundamental needs met: an education, a job, and a home. But, when my life purpose flipped, it consequently turned my goals, as well. For the first time, I found that getting my personal survival needs achieved was not how to appraise the quality of my well being. I recognized, deep down, the difference between making value (money) and creating value which will lead to money. I knew that producing value was to be the target of my subsequent set of goals; it might bring an end to the months of difficulty and confusion and I would find true happiness again. This did not mean that all I had done before that life-altering second on the beach was in vain, because, for me, finding out how to earn money was a truly necessary prerequisite with regard to learning to create value. Everything before that moment was done to help me to achieve goals that I didn't even realize I had. My mind was reawakened, my hiding doubts were destroyed, and I was revived with my brand-new purpose - I felt authentic happiness once again.