8 min read
When do real transformations happen? When do you close one chapter of your life and begin the next one? I believe it starts at the lowest point in whatever journey we are on at the time. The end of the road of our current way of life and the beginning of the next one.
For me, it was last December. I had been in QA - a nerdy term for Quality Assurance in a software world - for eight years by then. For years, I had craved a more creative job, until my dream finally came true. I was lucky enough to get a contract as Lead QA with the secondary title of UX designer. It felt unreal first, and it satisfied my ego. For a while, at least. After the honeymoon period, a part of me started wondering.
Is that it? Is that what life is all about? You set goals, you follow up on them, dreams come true, you set more goals, and the cycle repeats. There must be more to life than this, but I didn’t know what it could be.
Then Covid pandemic changed everything and forced me to get in touch with how fragile my life really was. Everyone’s life, really. I watched the movie True Cost about the environmental impact of fast fashion. I was stunned to learn that fashion is one of the most polluting industries right up there with agriculture and fossil fuel. Why have I never heard this before? I had a lot to think about as someone who proudly called myself a fashionista and owned 400+ items in my wardrobe, most of which were the result of binge shopping.
That’s how my existential question was answered. The true meaning, the true purpose emerged. It literally felt like sunlight coming through the dark clouds. My purpose was not to ace all classes, collect job titles, get more skillful, build connections or make money. Rather it was to contribute to solving the environmental issues and inspiring others to do the same. It was also to contribute to the positive transformation of humanity on its path to enlightenment.
All the tangible things I thought were my purpose were just tools, means to an end.
To set the intention properly, I thought about the words that would represent my professional mission. They were: mindfulness, product design, sustainability, innovation, passion, light, and love - for people and our home.
I’ve always loved writing, art, fashion, design, and business, but I never considered being a blogger. Not only that - I avoided Instagram because I viewed it as the source of addictions to materialism, celebrity cult, influencer culture and mindless escapism. It struck me that it doesn’t have to be like that. People can have meaningful conversations on Instagram and reach thousands of minds. What’s more, it has become a media channel with the reach and the power to change minds that can be compared to that of the newspapers at the turn of last century.
It occurred to me that I could use blogging as a valuable tool to fulfill my purpose. That is how the idea of my sustainable fashion blog, Sparkpick, was born. But that’s another story.
I’m a true believer that each one of us has a true purpose. You just have to launch your quest, and it will find you on its own if your intentions are honest and sincere.
Once you do, having a purpose will bring meaning and value to every single day of your life, and answering that call to adventure might just be your next big breakthrough.
My design resolutions for 2021