nativespecies

I gave up drinking and started getting more into exercise recently, which has helped my mental clarity a lot. As a daily drinker for over 15+ years, I was in quite a mental fog and I expect to need a lot more time to come out of it.

However, as I began to emerge from said fog over the last few months, the lack of purpose in my life was clear. Work is just a job, I have a few hobbies I enjoy (cooking, running, reading), but none of them would equate to a purpose in life. I have no kids and no desire to have them. A great marriage. A few friends, but most of them have kids and never see them anymore. My dog is great, and I enjoy spending time with him.

I can't stop asking myself: is this enough? Why am I not feeling content? Why do I feel like every day is a repetitive exercise in near futility?

All the generic self-help stuff online around purpose isn't connecting with me for some reason. I am looking to this more analytically-minded crowd to source ideas for how to actually go about finding purpose and meaning in one's life. What did you do? What did you discover along the way? What would you do differently?

It's embarrassing to admit, but I need a roadmap here. I work with a therapist and a coach and I STILL cannot crack the purpose and meaning stuff. I feel broken.