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When we look at the daily grind, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that life is merely a repetitive cycle of waking up, working hard, and paying bills. But if survival and financial obligation were our only purpose, the human spirit would break under the weight of life's inevitable crushing hardships. For me, the true reason for being stems from a grand design, and I measure meaningful success through a much simpler, deeper lens: raising sons who can support their families, genuinely enjoy life, and look in the mirror and smile at themselves. When you peel back the surface of our everyday struggles, the answer to "WHY" we keep pushing forward resolves into three foundational pillars: the Fear of God, the Love of God, and Gratitude to God. When a believer truly internalizes these three principles, they unlock the core purpose of the universe and find the strength to navigate any storm.
Removing the Burden of Social Expectations
The first pillar, the Fear of God, reorganizes every social expectation and moral anxiety we carry. Consider our Pakistani culture, where life is heavily built around intricate expectations from people who do not even share our blood. A mother-in-law lives with the fear of whether her daughter-in-law will genuinely care for her in old age. A husband expects a nurturing wife, while a wife yearns for her new family to understand her identity and support her passions. Even within biological ties, parents worry endlessly about whether their sons will look after them when old age arrives, especially in a society where poor diet and grueling routines leave many elderly people physically frail and unable to even fetch a glass of water for themselves. These social anxieties become an overwhelming burden when we rely solely on human reciprocity. However, when the Fear of God anchors a society, everything changes. We realize that we are directly answerable to the Divine for how we treat others. Caring for our elders, supporting a spouse, and showing compassion cease to be transactional demands or cultural stresses; they become sacred duties performed for God, removing the fear and resentment from human relationships.
Finding Hope in the Face of Unimaginable Grief
The second pillar, the Love of God, provides the ultimate answer when life breaks us and we are forced to ask why we should keep going through profound trauma. In my work offering verbal therapy, I regularly sit across from people carrying heavy, unimaginable grief. I am currently working with a father who has two sons living abroad in America and Dubai, while his third son tragically drowned right before his eyes when powerful ocean waves swept him away at the beach. For years, conventional psychiatric medications have done little more than numb his mind, suppressing his ability to think clearly rather than healing his pain. His story is part of a much broader landscape of human suffering. I have counseled a man who lost his young wife to cancer just eight months after their wedding, and we witness immense tragedy around the world, from families destroyed in Palestine to missiles hitting a hospital in Afghanistan, and state violence in Kashmir where families are left searching for missing loved ones. How do you give hope to someone who has lost their everything? You cannot fix this with empty toxic positivity or material promises. The answer lies in a deep dive into the Love of God, understanding that this temporary world is not the ultimate end, that suffering is met with divine wisdom and mercy, and that ultimate justice and eternal reunion await. Loving God gives us a reason to endure the unbearable because it assures us that no pain is meaningless.
Shifting Perspective in Daily Hardship
The third pillar, Gratitude to God, keeps us grounded during the mundane, frustrating daily grinds that test our patience. Just recently, I faced a heavy repair bill of over $170 for my power backup system and had to live without electricity for weeks, enduring up to 12 hours of load-shedding a day across four separate power outages. It is so easy during those hot, dark hours to complain and envy those sitting comfortably in air-conditioned luxury. But Gratitude to God forces us to shift our perspective. How often do we pause to think about those who cannot even afford a simple battery backup during endless blackouts? Are we so blinded by our own desires that we only look at those living in luxury above us, while ignoring those fighting just to survive below us? Gratitude teaches us that true wealth is not the absence of hardship, but the presence of perspective. It reminds us that every breath, every bit of health, and every small comfort is a gift we did not earn.
Waking Up to an Eternal Purpose
Ultimately, why do we wake up every day and keep grinding? We do not do it just to clear bills or chase temporary comfort. We do it because we are part of a divine purpose that connects our daily efforts to something eternal. God is the complete answer to understanding human nature, enduring grief, and finding genuine hope. While atheists and agnostics may see the world through a different lens, my own journey out of darkness and into the light showed me that divine connection is the only path that truly heals the soul. What about you? When life strips away the noise, what is the core "WHY" that keeps you moving forward?