My biggest project and undertaking: Myself

From the day of our birth, our lives are a series of multiple projects, from individual projects to group projects, from personal projects and academic projects to occupational projects, all with various targets to achieve. From learning to eat, speak, and walk, each and every aspect of life can be interpreted as a project in itself.

All such mini projects and mega projects cumulatively contribute to the biggest project of all, which lasts the entirety of our lifespan—the development of “ourselves,” our “identities,” and “personalities.”

We, as complex individuals and have multiple facets to our lives, including our identity, goals, aspirations, image, hobbies, etc., which we work on steadily developing over time.

Similarly, there are multiple aspects to my personal life, academics, and career that I focus on developing, and the entirety of this I see as the project of self-development, or developing myself.

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However, though we have structured approaches, objectives, and timelines for achieving our academic and professional projects, we tend to take our personal lives a bit more for granted, and we tend to take an ad hoc approach when it comes to our lives, mostly due to the unquantifiable nature of our personal goals.

The reason for this ad hoc approach, I believe, is due to the lack of supervision from an external source and our personal objectives merely being self-driven. While it gives us flexibility to build ourselves, it can also lead to procrastination and inconsistency.

My perspective of life

It’s been 35 years, over 12,783 days, since the first time I saw the light of day. Since then, it has been a journey of continuous learning, continuous discovery, and continuous growth. Not to sound like an old man, but throughout these days that I’ve spent, I’ve seen many events unfold, the world change, technology advance within a few decades, the rise of social media, and the degradation of nature and the climate. I’ve seen many wars unfold and many come to an end. Many a revolution in politics, religion, race, nationality, even gender and sexuality. I’ve seen discrimination and the separation of humanity. Groups forming against each other, fueled by beliefs and ideologies, sometimes not of our own.

Amongst the vileness, I have also seen the good in life, the advancement of medicine, the increase in the longevity of life, equality among genders, improvements in judicial systems, and emphasis on animal rights, conservation, and humanitarianism.

So what is my takeaway from all of it?

Life in itself is a mere speck in the grand scheme of the universe. However, given the probability of life occurring in the cosmos, it is one of the greatest blessings, not only to have life, but also to be conscious of it. To have the ability to understand, think, and act of our own accord. Hence, my belief is that it is of utmost importance to appreciate every passing second of life.

But given the day-to-day distractions we face, it is easily forgotten. Hence, it is of utmost importance that we remind ourselves from time to time to take a step back and appreciate the fact that we are alive. That we are able to see, to hear, to taste, to smell, to feel, and above all, to communicate and share our experience of life with each other.

Our time on Earth is limited, and there is much to experience and share, so it is important that we cherish every moment and do the best that we can with what we are given!

What is my life’s purpose?

The philosophical discussion of the purpose of life has been ongoing since the emergence of consciousness. Why are we here, on this speck of dirt we call Earth, drifting through the vast cosmos for reasons we do not understand?

A friend once told me that our purpose in life is to touch those around us with the light that is within us.

As a devout Christian, my purpose is to live for the will of God and the fulfillment of His kingdom, while loving God with my whole heart and soul and giving back the best I can to the rest of society from what I have been blessed with.

However, in purely biological terms, I believe our purpose as the current generation alive on Earth is to ensure the continuation of humanity and contribute to the sustenance and development of future generations.

So to summarise, I believe my purpose is to serve God, love my neighbour, and contribute to the future of mankind and society.

Where do I stand right now?

As of 2026, I have managed to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and a Commercial Pilot License with an Airbus A320 type rating.

Currently, I am employed as a First Officer at a commercial airline, and I have a small tech start-up dealing with bespoke software development.

I am 84 kg in weight and not in the healthiest shape. I would classify myself as “skinny fat,” with average strength and mobility.

Besides that, I am still single and not romantically involved.

I would classify myself as still being stuck in the rat race, living paycheck to paycheck.

What is it that I am working towards?

Bearing in mind my purpose in life, there are a few different goals I hope to achieve.

Career-wise, I hope to develop as an airline pilot, improve my knowledge, and continue up the ranks, while ensuring my entrepreneurial enterprises are sustainable as well, and eventually lead to financial freedom.

Academically, I hope to study further along the lines of my career, hoping to complete an MSc in Aviation Management and, time permitting, an MBA too. Furthermore, I intend to read on theology and possibly complete a Bachelor’s degree in theological studies as well.

And personally, my objectives are to develop my personality as an individual, striving towards growth and healing whatever inner trauma that affects me, to be a stable person mentally and emotionally, while also training my body physically for a long and healthy life while keeping my purpose in mind .

What’s next?

Besides improving and honing my knowledge and skills as an airline pilot, I hope to scale up my business to a point of generating a considerable passive income. At the moment, I am still investing my time and earnings in it to build up capital.

I also hope to invest in the Colombo Stock Exchange and build up a considerable portfolio.

Meanwhile, I hope to focus on any academic endeavours that assist me in my career, ideally starting with an MSc in Aviation Management.

I also intend to get into a workout routine to focus on building my strength, mobility and live an overall healthier life.

Eventually, my goal is to get out of the rat race and achieve time, money, and location freedom. I hope to share my journey as I go along the way. There is no telling if I will actually achieve any of it, in all honesty. I am still very much figuring it out. But hopefully, any and all progress I make will be of use to you in achieving your own goals in life.

As always, wishing you all the best and signing off until next time!