Purpose is a term freighted with significance; life purpose even more so. Realizing what our life purpose is—let alone fulfilling it—is so daunting a task that there’s a huge industry out there that wants to help us with it. Because we have to have one, right? If we don’t find it and go after it, life will be empty and our lives will have been wasted. This is tough enough to deal with early on in life, but as we get older it can lead to all kinds of stress and anxiety. If we haven’t found it yet, does that mean we’re failures? Or is there still time to undertake the quest?
Assuming we actually do have a life purpose, why is it so hard to determine what it is for so many people? What’s the big mystery? Whose purpose is it, anyway? If it’s yours, it should not be opaque to you. If it’s part of some universal master plan that requires we race through a series of mazes like rats in order to find the life-purpose cheese, do you really want to play that game? I don’t.
Life mission is another one of those terms, but with a twist that includes coming up with a mission statement for your life. It would be interesting to take a poll to find out how many people have written mission statements for their lives. But I think I already know what the results would be: damn few.
This idea that each of us has a specific life purpose probably derives from humanity’s deep need to understand the much bigger picture: the purpose or meaning of life itself. That isn’t something we can actually know from our particular vantage point, but it’s hard to live with the unknowing. So we search for the meaning of life and try to figure out what our purpose is in having one (a life).
This may seem radical to some, although I know it won’t to others, but if there’s a big-picture purpose to your being alive right now, you probably will never know what it is. If you believe you’ve found it and are living it, congratulations. I mean that sincerely. But if you’re still looking for it, feel free to give up the search. Have a bowl of ice cream. Listen to some music. Call a friend. Enjoy your day.
What a freeing concept! Finding your own way makes much more sense than hoping you latch onto the ONE thing. There could be any number of things that could bring you satisfaction and meaning. You only need to discover ONE of them. I think I’ll call a friend. 🙂
Yes, not only is it likely there’s not just ONE purpose for each person to discover, but the things that bring meaning and satisfaction change over time. We can get addicted to either the search for the ONE thing or to whatever it is we’ve decided the ONE thing is and miss what’s right in front of us.
Interesting concept. I define life purpose as the aim or intention of the life force energy you put forth, so just walking the path every day qualifies for living your purpose.
However, imagine knowing consicously the “7 Universal Life Purpose Elements” of Natal, Developmental, Psychological, Professional, Spiritual, Mystical and Transitional that really do take a person to their purpose.
Each of these elements has an imprint on us and when we understand how they all fit together we each can know our purpose because we are living it, but from that point on it can be much more conscious in its expressions and intent.
Suzanne,
I think one of the problems with the concept of life purpose is that not everyone has the same definition of it, so it can be difficult (though interesting) to have a conversation about it. And many people are not spiritual or are only vaguely so. I don’t think that prevents them from living a life of purpose (as opposed to “a” purpose) and meaning.
My own experience and my years of experience working with many different people has led me to conclude that instead of searching for the glove that fits the hand, it might be more satisfying and productive to fashion one’s own set of gloves to use and discard as needed.
But no matter how we choose to travel the path, meaning and purpose can only come from traveling it consciously and by developing self-awareness. There are many different routes to self-awareness. Different strokes for different folks.
Thank you so much for sharing your perspective.
Joycelyn