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What is purpose? Purpose implies direction and time—you do something now to have something later that you value. For some people, doing work they enjoy and raising a loving family defines their purpose. For others the sense of purpose might be elusive, their actions don’t reflect their deepest desires. Even some individuals are not having clue about the purpose of life for years together.
Purpose can be as straightforward as your goal. It can be revealed in the answer you give when someone asks, “Why are you doing what you’re doing?”. If you are getting the answer to this question then you are on right track to search for the meaning of your life.
“Life purpose,” however, implies something beyond “reason.” It is a chosen dedication of your life energy to something you believe is more important than your individual little existence. It is your commitment. It is that for which you will sacrifice your life—at very least your time, attention, creativity, effort, and perhaps even your life itself. Later it becomes your identity as surely as your name, your body, or your story to date.
The Story of Three Stonecutters
You can see these different kinds of purpose—goal, meaning, and dedication—in this story about three stonecutters, each chipping away at a large block. A passerby approaches the first stonecutter and asks, “Excuse me, what are you doing?” The stonecutter replies rather angrily, “Can’t you see? I’m chipping away at this big hunk of stone.” Approaching the second stonecutter, our curious person asks the same question. This stonecutter looks up with a mixture of pride and resignation and says, “Why, I’m earning a living to take care of my wife and children.” Moving to the third stonecutter, our questioner asks, “And what are you doing?” The third stonecutter looks up, his face shining, and says with reverence, “I’m building a house of worship!” (dedication to a higher purpose).
The meaning we give to an action comes from within us, not by the action. Like the first stonecutter, we have the choice of denying that our actions have any meaning beyond the physical reality of what we are doing. Like the second, we can absorb the meanings that our culture ascribes to our actions. Supporting a family is a culturally accepted purpose. So are getting an education, getting married and having children, creating a successful business, discovering the cure for a disease, winning honors . . . the list goes on. The third stonecutter’s answer points to another level of meaning and purpose—living our highest ideals, dedicating ourselves to something beyond our personal gratification, that leaves a legacy for generations to come, that seems noble and worthy of our steadfast devotion.
Ways to Find Your Purpose
Joanna Macy, an educator, ecologist, and author, has suggested three directions in which to look for your own purpose.
#1. Work with your passion, on projects you care deeply about. What was your dream before you stopped dreaming? What’s the work you would do even if you weren’t paid to do it? You’re not looking for those superficial preferences depicted on bumper stickers, like “I’d rather be surfing.” You’re looking for something you’d gladly unhampered would give your life to, not something you use to get away from your life.
#2. Work with your pain, with people whose pain touches your heart. Have you “been there so you know how it feels”—in grief, sorrow, despair, hunger, terror? Can you offer others the wisdom and compassion you gained from this experience? Is there an aspect of suffering in the world that calls you to action? If you are in such pain that you’ve lost touch with your ability to help others, then now is the perfect time to extend your hand to others in pain. It’s healing.
#3. Work with what is at hand, with the opportunities that arise daily for responding to the simple needs of others. Finding your purpose has often been equated with discovering the perfect job or service project that will galvanize you to be as saintly as Mother Teresa. If you remember that there is no single act of greatness, just a series of small acts done with great passion or great love, then in doing what you see needs to be done—taking dinner to a sick neighbor, helping a child learn to read, writing a letter to the editor of your newspaper, being an advocate for the homeless in your city—you will discover a life filled with the experience of having a purpose worth living for.
Passion, pain, what’s at hand—these are doorways into finding a purpose beyond material acquisition.
Measuring Your Movement Toward Purpose
What have you always wanted to do that you haven’t done yet? What brings you the most fulfillment? Your musings in response to these questions will also provide clues to your purpose.
Take a few minutes right now to write down your purpose in life. It may have nothing to do with how you now spend your time. It may or may not seem significant to others. And it may not even be very clear for you yet. Just do the best you can. Use this stated purpose to measure your actions. If over time you see your purpose changing, that’s fine; simply write what life purpose now means to you and use this new statement of purpose as your measuring stick.
However you define your purpose, you’ll need a way to measure your results, some feedback to tell you if you are on track. Often, we measure how we are doing in fulfilling our purpose by material success, or by professional or community recognition.
There is another, more accurate, measure of whether you are living your purpose—one that goes beyond material success and beyond rewards and recognition. It is your answer to the question “Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?” Asking this question faithfully—every month, for every category—will nudge you toward clarifying your values, living in alignment with your stated purpose, and defining further your true purpose in life. (Content credit to ‘Your Money or Your Life’ by Vicki Robin)
“It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.” – Winston S. Churchill
