Once, a speaker at Ted (www.ted.com) defined something called as the core of existence. Imagine three concentric circles (meaning one within the other). The inner most circle is labelled “why”, the second innermost is labelled “how” and the outermost circle is “what”. The speaker said that the most successful companies like Apple come from inside out. For example, Apple says that it believes in innovation and an indigenous way to do things (Why). It does so by going against presumptions and by challenging existing beliefs (How) and it sells laptops and sound devices (What). And finally Apple asks the customer whether they want one. And such companies are the ones that are most successful, as people believe in what the company believes and they buy the product and not the other way around. This concept was like water to my soul, which was hungry for knowledge and understanding of its existence. And I applied this core of existence model to myself.
After listening to that speaker fully, I stood before the mirror and asked myself the question “Why do i exist? Why am i here?” It also hit me that these questions were subsets of the question “Who am I?” and that many philosophers embrace solidarity in search of that truth. But I am a practical man. I felt that I should be able to do something with my present situation without undertaking such extreme measures for the sake of self discovery.
And then the answer hit me. As part of one of the modules in my MBA programme, I had learnt something called as a vision statement. Apparently, a vision statement is usually designed by companies as a symbol of direction. It is a very short statement of a maximum of two lines, describing where the company sees itself in the future. But the main advantage of a vision statement is that it should be achievable but at the same time it should also state something that is improbable. In other words, a vision statement can be vague.
So, I then decided to draft a vision statement for my life in order to answer the core question “Why”. Naturally, as this question is pretty difficult to be solved, it took me several days. But, in the end, I came up with this rough draft of my vision statement. It goes like this :
My Vision Statement
"To appreciate beauty in all its forms, to fulfil the obligation to my parents, to improve lives of others and to pursue my wild but rational desires"
As I said, this is just a rough draft and as you would have realised, this is nothing but just an amalgamation of my thoughts. But, even so, this provided some clarity as to explain my existence.
Next, I turned to the question “How”. As for the first clause of vision statement, I can appreciate beauty by embracing nature and appreciating innocence. Coming to the second clause, I have to make my parents comfortable financially and spiritually. Thirdly, I can improve lives of others by donating blood and by being a true listener. And finally, I have to make a list of dreams that I want to pursue. I mean, I should know what I have to run after.
And to the final question “What”. To explain briefly, the question can be expanded as “What are you selling?” or “What do you stand for in this world?” The first clause of the vision statement is very clearly explained in the ‘How’ level itself. Coming to the second one, for supporting my family, I need to settle. And for that I need a career. So I will be selling a very capable candidate for hiring. Again the third and the final clauses are clearly explained in the ‘how’ level itself.
Now, I have certain clarity as to my purpose of existence. I have adapted this tool for my own purpose and different people can have different adaptations and different interpretations of the same question. I personally feel that once you know who you are, at least in our level of reasoning, it will definitely help us go a long way. For example, if a company calls you for an interview, and you are not taking it seriously, looking at your circle of existence will make you realise the importance of that interview. Of course, this is just one example I can think off the top of my head.
The world is a very unfair place and complex beyond one’s wildest imagination. In such a crazy world, it is only natural for a human to lie back and watch TV (In my case, I will be on youtube the whole day). But, the core of existence can give you a sense of purpose and something to live for.
