The Emptiness Is the Point
What the lack of purpose is trying to tell you
By Simon Doble
As professionals, we’ve built entire careers optimizing ourselves – learning resilience, mastering execution, and anticipating crises. But when we finally stop long enough to catch our breath, we get hit by something we didn’t expect. We feel nothing. Or worse, we feel trapped.
In our culture, these feelings remain hidden from the public eye. But study after study find they run at record highs among young adults and midlife professionals. We live in an epidemic of purposelessness. A public health crisis of loneliness.
Here’s what no one is talking about, though: that feeling isn't failure. That's your biology telling you something important is missing.
Asking yourself, ‘Why am I doing this? What’s the point?’ isn't a sign of weakness. It's one of the most important questions a human being can ask.
Anguish is a necessary part of freedom and individuality. Leaders who ignore this question, who try to bury it under their workload or silence this voice, don’t burn out immediately, they drift, then collapse.
Purpose isn’t a luxury. It’s a basic human need. And when embraced it becomes a fuel that makes everything else possible.
We don’t need more productivity. We need more meaning
Meaning almost never comes from more work, more money or more status. It comes from connection. From belonging to something bigger than your to-do list. From giving something back.
That’s what community united behind a common goal does. That’s what service does. When you join something – a cause, a team, a mission – and contribute not because you have to, but because it matters to you, the chemistry in your body actually changes. You feel rooted and alive.
“That emptiness you feel inside is not a problem to fix. It’s a direction to follow.”
These are basic human needs. Some find that compass in faith, and in the community, ritual and purpose it offers, others must chart their own course and find what matters to them.
But this process cannot start unless we embrace that emptiness. Unless we decide it’s time to stop running away and facing it head on.
Forge meaning from helplessness
I'll be straight with you, facing these feelings – that lack of meaning and direction – won’t be easy. But there are ways to turn it into something positive without letting it eat you alive.
One way is to shift the focus from what you don’t have to what you have. Embracing abundance instead of scarcity. This opens the door for that energy to flow towards gratitude rather than turning inward and going to waste.
We are all dependent on other people, on nature and society. Sitting with the emptiness and filling it with the images of ecosystems, communities and the specific people that make your life possible marks the beginning of a shift. And the feelings of gratitude and appreciation a helpful guide.
When you turn this into a habit, this simple reframe leads to profound impact on your sense of belonging. But thoughts alone won’t be enough. The next step is action; however small it might be.
Small action, big impact
Giving back is a fuel. It powers you for weeks and months. Not only in your sense of goodwill, but also in improved relationships, in how rooted you feel in the world and by being in touch with your purpose.
And the effects multiply if you can join forces with others. Collectively aligning your appreciation with action and making it into a uniting force. You can find new meaning in spending time with your community, team or family.
Getting to participate in something like this puts everyone in a good mood. You have a thing to focus on but all in a relaxed atmosphere. Suddenly, it feels like a Sunday afternoon. Bonding becomes that much easier when you all give back to something you believe in.
Each will have a different purpose, and their own reasons
I have experienced that darkness, emptiness and lack of purpose countless times. Visiting children all over the developing world. Hearing life stories that take more than a few rough turns. Being a father who once couldn't be there for his own children. I know helplessness. I know what it costs a person to live without dignity.
That's why I couldn't walk past energy poverty when I learned about that issue. That’s why I had to act on it to fill that darkness with meaning. And that’s why tens of thousands of volunteers are joining us every year, each carrying their own reason, their own darkness that they were ready to do something with.
Every one’s reason will be different. And so might be the cause and the way they give back. The key is choosing to listen, appreciate and give back, turning hollowness into action through gratitude.
Looking for opportunities to give back
With this approach, not shutting down to emptiness but letting it guide your actions, opportunities to give back start appearing everywhere. In small everyday situation, in unexpected opportunities and meaningful urges.
If you wish to deepen this practice, millions of people around the world use Earth Day on April 22 as one of these opportunities. There are sure to be multiple initiatives in your area that you can join, to deepen your existing relationships and find new connections.
And if you wish to give back by helping to end energy poverty, a global issue severely impacting hundreds of millions of people, both SolarBuddy and SolarBuddy LIVE are part of Earth Day.
Seeing more and more people choosing to give back, and hearing about the profound impact it had on their sense of purpose and wellbeing, is giving me hope.
I remember feeling overwhelmed and lost, realising how little I could do by myself in the world. But seeing a growing global community, my own group of people, has filled that space with joy.
Every little moment, every person I see energized and smiling after our event, every child beaming after assembling their solar light, every look of relief and hope I see in the teachers' eyes adds a little more of joy and meaning.
Want me to speak at your event? Reach out and schedule a meeting!