Nelson Mandela Quote Reminds Us How our Journey Relates to our Purpose
Today as I was reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open (which I highly recommend), I came across a remarkable quote from Nelson Mandela. Agassi shares this quote as he writes about a transformational time in his life visiting with Mandela in South Africa raising money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation at a tennis event.
Agassi quotes Mandela as once saying in an interview that:
No matter where you are in life, there is always more journey ahead.
As I read these words, they immediately struck me as sage advice to remind us all how our journey relates to our purpose. Whether you are doggedly pursuing a goal, casually contemplating your goals, just reached your goal, or even in the unlikely event that you don’t have any goals in mind in this moment, your life is a journey. Moreover, as long as your heart beats, there is more journey ahead.
This matters because as many people struggle to find purpose in life, the reality is you can always find purpose in making the most of the journey ahead. That is, finding purpose in the choices you must make in the next minute, hour, day, or week. It all has meaning. Those choices include deciding if you will:
- Procrastinate or act now
- Sacrifice or seek instant gratification
- Keep going or start over
- Take a break or push yourself to keep going
- Speak up or remain silent
- Learn more or execute what you already know
- Settle for what you have or go after more
- Stay where you are or move
These types of choices are the tip of the spear of your journey ahead. If nothing else, making the best of those choices is all the purpose you need.