Hell is… having no direction in life.

Imagine waking up every morning, going through the motions, with no goal in sight, and feeling like you’re not getting anywhere. That sounds like hell to me.

Personally, I feel most alive when I’m challenging myself, learning and improving myself.

From my experience, it’s a bit of an uncomfortable feeling. A few years ago, I was learning, competing and trying to achieve something I had wanted for a long time. I remember feeling super alive and excited, and at the same time, there was always a little bit of discomfort. The discomfort stemmed from the fact that I was trying to attain something outside my comfort zone. As I went about the motions of daily life, there was always that something at the back of my mind constantly reminding me of my goal and motivating me.

I’m happy and proud to say that I achieved my goal.

But, unfortunately, I had not thought further. I hadn’t thought, what next? What’s the bigger picture?

And then I realized that was my version of hell.

I was comfortable, but there was nothing for me to work towards. There was no goal.

It took me some time to realize that life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. I needed to pace myself and began writing down short-term, medium-term and long-term goals for myself. That way, I was always working on something, towards something.

Not all goals have to be big. They can be simple things like breaking bad habits and learning good ones, picking up a new hobby or taking an online course on a subject you’ve always wanted to study.

The important thing is to have a goal. It can be anything. But it should be something you want and are willing to work on.

Having a direction in life makes me confident, motivated and gives me a sense of purpose.

(I clicked this photograph during one of my morning walks before the coronavirus situation happened)