When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind
is the right wind.”
-Seneca
"A person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the
roughest road. A person with no purpose will make no progress on even the smoothest
road."
-Thomas Carlyle
I believe each one of us is born with a unique purpose in life
to fulfill. I believe there is a meaning to each one of our lives - that God does
not create anything without reason. Purpose is what gives us a real sense of direction
to our life. Without knowing our purpose, it is very
easy to get sidetracked. Without purpose, we may be climbing the wrong ladder, and
cutting down the wrong tree. Without purpose, we may be running very efficiently
indeed, but headed in the opposite direction to where we really want to go!
As Henry David Thoreau said “Many wise men go fishing all of
their life without knowing it is not fish they are after”. Having a purpose can
mean the difference between making a living and making a life. Consistency of purpose
is the secret of all successful people. Without a purpose, the actions we take and
the goals we chase may not bring us fulfillment. Purpose is the why behind everything
we do.
Here are the life purpose statements of some highly successful
people:
“To uplift humanity’s consciousness through business”
-D.C Cordova - cofounder of the Excellerated Business School
“To humbly serve the Lord by being a loving, playful, powerful,
and passionate example of the absolute joy that is available to us the moment we
rejoice in God’s gifts and sincerely love and serve all of his creations.”
-Anthony Robbins, self-help guru
“To leave the world a better place than I found it, for horses
and for people”
-Monty Roberts, author of “the man who listens to Horses”
“To create and inspire one million millionaires who each give
$1 million to their church or charity”
-Mark Victor Hansen, coauthor of the “Chicken soup of the soul”
series
How can we discover our life purpose?
The joy that we experience in doing certain activities is the
real key to discovering our life purpose. Joy is our inner guidance system. An activity
that is aligned with our purpose gives us immense joy. A person who is doing what
is true to his purpose if often willing to do it even if he does not get paid for
the work, as the satisfaction from the work is itself enough compensation for the
work done.
Think of all of the times since childhood when you were inspired
and really joyful. What were you doing then? How were
you feeling? What was common in all the life experiences that gave you immense joy?
Chances are that your purpose has something to do with those experiences. Also you
can attempt to find your life purpose in meditation. After a session of meditation,
ask yourself “What is the purpose of my life?”, “What am I here to do?” Allow the
answer to come to you.
A purpose needs to mention not only what we will do and achieve,
but also how our life will impact people around us. "Making a million dollars" can
be a personal goal - it is however not a purpose, as it does not include other people
in the statement.
Some questions you can ask yourself to find out about your
purpose:
-
What work would you do, which you enjoy so much that you would be happy even if you did not get paid for it?
What does your heart long to do?
Who are you? Are you an athlete? An artist? An scientific mind? A businessman? A rockstar?
What do you love to become in your future?
What would you love to learn?
If there is something that you would teach, what would it be?
What drives you? love? peace? adventure? security?
What do you what to experience in this life?
"Purpose" is different from "goal"
Many times, people take "purpose" and "goal" to be one and
the same. They are not one and the same. Here are the differences:
A goal is something that you attain one day, after striving
towards it for sometime. Purpose is something that you are, because of which you
have the drive to get up each morning and do what you want to do.
Your goal is one of your destinations, whereas purpose is your
journey.
Attainment of goals/dreams is the effect, your purpose is the
drive/cause.
Your goal gives you some direction, whereas purpose gives you
something greater - a meaning for your life, without which even attained goals may
not satisfy you for long.
Does our life purpose have to be grand?
It is not necessary that each one of us need to define a life
purpose that has plans to change the whole world. Each of us has unique talents,
skills, and drives. - we experience joy in doing different things. When you are
on purpose, you become the best possible you, and only you know what makes you the
best you.
Can a life purpose change?
Absolutely. We are all growing bigger and better each day.
As we grow, so will our life purpose. Define your life purpose, and expect to refine
it along the way.
My purpose:
The purpose of my life is to humbly serve God by inspiring
and empowering people to live a life full of love, joy and fulfillment.
How did I arrive at the above purpose?
I found that I experience great joy when I write inspirational
articles/quotes, and when I am answering questions that ask for solutions to challenging
life situations. It brings me great fulfillment to know that my work impacts the
lives of many people positively. I love learning and sharing wisdom. I love to take
something apparently complex and explain it in a simple way. I love contemplating
on different topics on a daily basis and writing on them. Finally, I realize that
humility and a mentality of service to people and God is important to me. I notice
a difference in the quality of my work when done with ego and without ego, and pray
that my work be done in surrender to the divine, without a sense of doer ship.
What clues did my earlier life give me towards my current purpose?
I have always immensely enjoyed problem solving since childhood.
Also I enjoyed performing in front of people, whether it was solving math problems
in front of class, acting in plays, or performing in a singing competition in college.
In tenth grade, I was very happy and proud when a teacher appreciated me and read
out a poem and essay I had written in front of the class. I also love playing chess,
won the Bombay selection tournament and qualified to play at state level. I realize
that all of these things are somehow related to what I think is my purpose now.
For example - The love for chess denotes my love to think, to strategize, to employ
different tactics to solve problems. Being comfortable in penning down my thoughts
in school was a hint that I could later do this relative ease - which I am doing
now. Also being in front of people and giving some type of performance came up on
multiple occasions in my past, which is what I do now on this page as well. I give
these examples from my past not to boast about it, but to give you an idea as to
how you can look for clues from your past to search for your life purpose. Your
purpose is about doing something that you are good at, and from which you derive
a lot of joy.
I highly encourage you to think about your life purpose with
the guidelines above, and post it as a comment below this article. Do not focus
on making it too perfect - it is better to define something and refine later. Getting
clarity of purpose will greatly enhance the quality of your life. It will guide
you in making many important decisions as your life unfolds, and will bring your
much success, joy and fulfillment.