Changing Direction From A Clueless Mr. Bean To A Purposeful Walker

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”

~Dr. Viktor Frankl

Nathan posts videos of his walk around the city of Seoul in South Korea. He plans a specific route for every video and then walks the same path, giving his viewers a visual treat of this urban city. His YouTube channel, Seoul Walker depicts a journey that is specific and is a joy to watch.

We don’t know where he will lead us but every shot taken is just as mesmerizing as it is engaging. His walk around bus stations, malls, parks, temples, and driveways are complemented with a sense of purpose; a purpose to reveal the true beauty of Seoul and attract more tourists.

While Nathan knows where he’s going, most people aren’t truly sure in the figurative sense. I find purpose to be an aspect missing among many people. For instance, the market forces are gravitating toward the startup life. Professionals are frustrated with their jobs and want to deviate from a conventional job setup to the startup life.

“Whatever one plans, be it a startup or a job, be sure to do it with the right reasons and a strong desire.”

~Krescon Coaches

Several startup success videos have led people to think they too can run a business into a profit-making company. No doubt they could, but is it something they want to do? Is it a journey they want to take up based on the right reasons?

Many people are already planning to quit their jobs before they ask these questions. Some people make it big but many don’t. As a result, the disillusioned startup bubble bursts before their very eyes. And it’s back to doing their jobs regretting the time they wasted and the losses they incurred.

But what leads people to think or believe that leaving their job or owning a startup is their entire vision?

In truth, it is only part of their vision. The entirety of it is yet to be discovered.

Discovering your vision

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

~Henry David Thoreau

Whether you work in a 9-to-5 or plan on owning a business, it’s okay what you decide to do as long as you have clarity on the direction. Imagine how boring and frustrating it would be for Nathan if he shot his videos without first discovering the route he wanted to take for each video.

He may take a left turn and walk straight ahead only to realize that he has entered a dead-end alley. So, he has to walk back and look for another place to go but where? He thinks for a few moments, takes a step in a random direction, and then makes another wrong turn.

Wrong turns are what sum up a life without Purpose.

~Krescon Coaches

Therefore, whatever your decision in life, make sure that your motivation comes from the right source.

Barber: “So, made your mind up yet, sir?”

Pointing out a picture of Charles III’s hairstyle, Mr Bean sits in the chair, waiting for his haircut. However, before the barber could start trimming Mr Bean’s hair, he hears a telephone ring and goes into another room to attend to it. Mr Bean, fidgety as always, gets up from his chair and snoops around the salon. He picks up a pair of scissors and pretends to be the barber.

He is busy miming the barber’s strokes, while a mother enters the salon demanding a haircut for her son. Mistaking Mr Bean as the barber, she gives him instructions for cutting her son’s hair.

Before he can clarify that he is, in fact, the customer, the mother leaves the salon, placing her son in Mr Bean’s care. The boy sits in the chair and waits on Mr Bean who begins assessing the length of which he needs to cut the boy’s hair. Placing a random steel and hollow container over the boy’s head, he cuts with focus but rather precariously. The little boy is shocked at how his haircut has turned out, giving his fake barber an odd look. But, Mr Bean was not done yet. He picked up an electric razor and started to wave it in the air.

Then he plugs in the razor and powers it on, using it to shave the little boy’s hair in the center from the bottom to the front of his forehead.

The little boy’s haircut was an absolute mess but Mr Bean was proud of his work even though he had no clue of what he was doing. Needless to say, the boy left but only to come back with a mother enraged beyond belief. Mr Bean slowly escapes while the barber of the shop is left to face the chaos.

“People don’t buy what you do but they buy why you do it.”

~Simon Sinek

Mr Bean was a comedy show with the main lead played by Rowan Atkinson. Always portraying to be a lost soul, he lacked a sense of direction. Motivated by the most unlikely reasons, his actions were spontaneous and devoid of any purpose.

Taking the same lens of this character, I wonder whether some people too represent Mr Bean’s nature. Like his character, our purpose, vision, identity, and values may all get entangled in a cacophony of confusion. When these aspects are misaligned, frustration ensues, and when frustration increases, so does the will to give up achieving a once passion-driven goal.

You may be motivated to reach a goal. However, it cannot work unless your motivation is aligned with your PURPOSE. This is where a person with a lack of direction may turn into our beloved character, Mr Bean.

The Motivational Force of VVIP

Motivation is needed to drive you to your goals. However, it’s not just any kind of motivation but the one that comes from within. External motivations such as what’s trending in the market will not drive your passion for long.

For instance, these days, coding is trending so let’s become a programmer even though my natural strengths lie in graphic design. Would this trending field prove to be a long-term motivation? It is rather a path set up for disaster. One is soon to get frustrated as they lack a sense of direction.

·       Why do you want to become a coding expert?

·       What do you want to achieve as a coding expert?

·       What identity do you wish to create?

·       Where do you see yourself going or in what direction, as a coding expert?

Understand that a purpose has to be strong and rooted firmly to help recognize your identity, and hence, vision. Take the time to reflect upon your purpose, meaning the ‘why’ behind the path you wish to take.

·       Do you want to own a business? Why?

·       Do you wish to continue working in the same position in your company? Why?

Whatever the reason, your ‘Why’ has to make sense and be strong at the same time.

Let’s say, an employee decides to quit his job and own a business. The reason was that he argued with his reporting manager about a specific work task that wasn’t done efficiently. So, during that heated argument, his reporting manager said to the employee that he would not get far in life with such an attitude of giving excuses all the time. Personally offended, the employee quits his job on the spot and decides to open his company to give a fitting reply to his manager.

While this plot would make a great movie, reality shares a different truth. The truth of delusional motivations. Much like Mr Bean, one too can get fooled into being driven by the wrong motivation. Unless, like the Seoul Walker, one walks with a sense of purpose, direction, and vision, all based on the right motivation.

Therefore, once you have defined your purpose, it is easier to recognize your IDENTITY. What is the identity that you want to create for yourself? Where do you see yourself going on this journey? Who am I?

Reflect, ponder, and work toward answering this question while you keep your purpose in mind. If you don’t know who or what you are, it gets challenging to define your vision.

The Why, What, and How of it All

Once you have understood your PURPOSE and IDENTITY, your third step is to establish your VALUE SYSTEM. Your future decision-making moments will depend on your value system.

Values are like the rules of how you will choose to work and run your life. A strong value system helps you make decisions in a structured way. For instance, you know a shortcut to getting success but based on your values, you may have decided not to take the shorter route as it may harm your business in the long run. Your value system may include being patient rather than being impulsive.

Finally, once you have defined your Identity and Purpose, you can encompass them all to recognize your life’s VISION. Remember that your Identity is supported by the two pillars of purpose and values, which then help you form your vision.

So, take your steps accordingly:

Step 1: Define Your PURPOSE

Step 2: Recognize the IDENTITY you want to Create for Yourself

Step 3: Identify your VALUE System

Step 4: Recognize your entire VISION

The ‘why’ behind your journey matters a great deal. Your motivations should be aligned with your purpose. Or else, any kind of misalignment with your purpose, identity, and values can create frustration as your vision has still not been properly defined.

Here’s a simple poem that resonates with a lack of direction, and it goes like this:

Directionless Journey ~by Javaria Waseem

I found myself walking toward you blindly

there was no end, there was no start

just you and my stupid heart.