On Purpose

Finding purpose and having meaning is one of those key components of living a full and happy life. This is according to most spiritual practices, and it’s also backed by research. The hard part is, what in the BLEEP is purpose? 

That’s one of those big, vague questions that can do a lot for all of us but often feels like one of the hardest things to define in life. It becomes one of those existential struggles leaving most of us unsure of where to even start. 

Purpose, in my experience, is our own personal answer to life’s toughest questions:

Why am I here? 

What am I doing here (on this earth, on this path, in this place)? 

How do I want to impact my community, my country, or the world?

How can I help others? 

I used to get hung up on the bigness of the question. I knew I wanted to help others, but how? After thinking about it (A LOT) and gaining some experience with it, I’ve come to the following conclusion. I think getting clear on our own purpose is possible with two things:

First, we have to have a little bit of faith under our belts. You may be shocked by that answer, but this is a blog about finding faith so odds are it would be a factor at some point, and it probably shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that it comes first.

I don’t think I felt like was even allowed to act on my true purpose until I had faith. I talked myself out of it so many times. 

It will be too expensive. 

It will take too long. 

I won’t make enough money. 

It will be really hard. 

What if I do it and I’m still unhappy? 

This is fine. 

Any of that sound familiar? I think once I got the tiniest little bit of faith under my belt, it was like I had unwittingly stepped through a portal to another dimension in the Universe. In this new one, anything was possible. In the one I left behind, almost nothing was.

Once I started to allow myself to believe that things could work out and God (or Good) was available to me, I started doing all the things I had always wanted to do, no matter what it may cost or how long it would take, because now something was on my side. 

Whether or not something actually is on my side doesn’t really matter to me, and maybe it shouldn’t matter to you either, Dear Reader. The important part is I started feeling allowed to make choices for myself, rather than letting fear and worry stifle my growth. 

Did I make mistakes? Oh, sure. You bet. No question. 

Did I learn some absurdly painful lessons? Ugh, you have NO idea. 

The important part is that I went from paralyzed by fear and living in a state of near constant irritation due to a profound sense of powerlessness to taking action on my own behalf in the name of Good (or God) and I have zero regrets. ZERO. 

Well, maybe one. My only regret is that I wish I had allowed myself to take a leap of faith earlier in life, but I also know I couldn’t have arrived here any other way. 

The second component of finding purpose is in the specifics:

I want to help people by doing X, Y, and Z. 

I want to make the world a better place by solving X problem with Y solution. 

I want to change my community through Y. 

All the religions in the world are right about many things, including this one. I don’t think purpose can be a selfish act, like making more money for yourself or owning a bigger house. Something deep down in all of us knows that the house in that goal will never be big enough, and we will end up wanting a bigger one in some sort of soulless, Sisyphean task that leaves us feeling empty and broke, even when we have everything. 

Purpose has to have deep, thick roots grounded in community, country, globe in order for that tree to grow and stand tall. It becomes the representation that we were here in this life, we made an impact, and it is nourished by alleviating the suffering of others. Go (or Good) will probably always reward a purpose that is driven by Good (or God) itself, and you better believe those driven by cruelty and doing meaningless work suffer profoundly. 

This is a primary reason why so many of us are quite miserable. So much of work, these days, is far, far, far removed from altruism and purpose. For many, work can often actively run counter to helping others, either due to internal beliefs or external corporate policies, and no matter how well it may be rewarded monetarily, those involved feel black with the pain of lacking purpose.  

Am I encouraging you to give up your 401K and retirement to chase a crazy dream? Maybe. Am I prompting you to dig deep and explore your own values, so that you make an informed decision? I sure hope so. Am I asking you to consider how you can incorporate more purpose into your current life’s work? Heck yeah! 

While I know it can be daunting, many of us have probably had some sense of purpose or a passion lurking within for quite some time. Others have never felt allowed to even explore it. Regardless, I would say, as I say with anything in this writing: Start with faith. Experiment with just allowing yourself to believe in Good (or God) first, and see what happens next. 

I believe in you, and I hope eventually you believe in you, too.