Purpose and words like truth, faith, and passion, have been diffused of their original meaning and co-opted to support a 21st century precept or induction. Often we hear people say they can’t find their purpose in life. I think it’s because they’re trying to reach a plateau beyond their scope. It’s difficult to a purpose in life. It’s harder still to live with purpose.
I took a few minutes to pull apart the word Purpose to find meaning in it for myself. Here’s what I came up with.
Purpose is part general concept, part commitment to something bigger, and part plan to equip yourself for experience.
Let’s hit the general concept attribute first. Plain and simple, Purpose is an archetypical motivator. It’s not inherently a human quality but all-play, all-life-forms quality made up of chemical reactions and intent. It’s the underlying theme in messages like Eat or be eaten. Just do it. Or Living la vida loco.
Next, it is about a commitment to something bigger than ourselves. Whenever we’re reaching for that next edge, we often need the help of a community. Whatever your passion, gardening, mechanics, art, finances, sports, your job, parenting, you name it, know there’s a community or tribe to help you find your way. Belonging is one of the first steps to becoming. As humans we’ve evolved to become the penultimate problem-experts because we’ve mastered communication, collaboration, and emulation. Together, we define our purpose. Individually, not isolated from the pack, we define our unique contribution to our community and to our collective purpose.
Purpose is also part plan. It’s a set of habits that condition us towards our goals. If the juice is worth the squeeze, then we have to work at it everyday. As Steven Pressfield puts it we have to put our asses where our heart wants to be. In his book, The War of Art, if you want to be a writer then you have to show up everyday and write. That goes for anything you want to accomplish. If you want a better position at your job, try repurposing your portfolio to match the job requirement. Maybe you want to be more compassionate, start with your family and help them get along. Purpose requires you show up and take part.
Purpose will present you with experiences that come with reaching our goals. It’s about having the guts to talk about those experience and yet still be wrong. But purpose, keeps you in the conversation. Coupled with humility and the powerful act of listening to learn, purpose will help you find your legs again. It keeps you from quitting. It quiets the noise. It says belong.
Speaking of quieting the noise, purpose will help you filter what you do as habits. It helps you say no, thanks. I have a few things I need to work on today. Grab those moments. Your purpose is calling. Will you listen?
Unlike, passion, which I would define as a spiritual desire to become great at something, purpose is the intent to get to work. Goals are different too. Goals are endpoints. They’re fleeting moments of accomplishment. I like to think of goals as coal and purpose as the steam engine. Shovel in your goals and the engine gains momentum. It’s slow at first but purpose will get you there.
Purpose is an expression of life. Without it, we’re lost. We’re doomed to fail if we try to go it alone. Purpose is a qualifiable and quantifiable motivator. Put it to the test.
