Life purpose is a fundamental subject of interest to literally all personal development and self growth enthusiasts. Why exactly are we here?
Life purpose is a fundamental subject of interest to literally all personal development and self growth enthusiasts. Why exactly are we here?
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfilment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.”
– Viktor E. Frankl
It has also come to my notice that it takes as much time to do laziness as it takes to move mountains and level valleys, that the laziest people who lived eighty years of their lives complaining of how unfair life is are as blessed as the greatest inventors who changed the world in a few short years. The reality of the human condition is that we’re naturally wired with fierce primal drive for survival and accomplishment. Nobel Laureate, Bertrand Russel suggests that this drive is infinite, insatiable and mostly evident in “acquisitiveness, rivalry, vanity and love of power". But for many a man, there comes a time when the truth dawns and that changes everything. Men and women are known who attained a considerable level of civility and made monumental contributions that seem to challenge Russel's point of view. Andrew Carnegie gave away everything he acquired. Rockefeller made monumental contributions to charity, especially in the areas of health and education of the freed slaves. St. Maximilian Kolbe took the place of and died the death of another inmate of Hitler's concentration camp. Every man and every woman is here for a reason beyond food and water and the urge vainglory and self gratification. That reason is to grow and to give beyond self, to make a contribution to the progress of others and the preservation of our planet. As far as this is concerned, everybody has a specific vocation or mission, and it is in finding and fulfilling our individual missions that we feel truly fulfilled. In his ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, Frankl wrote...
“Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself…Pleasure is and must remain, a side-effect or by-product, and is destroyed to the degree to which it is made a goal in itself.”
If you want pleasure and happiness, you have to find your purpose and commit to it. These things do no come of their own accord; they’re fruits of purposeful life. “Effort and courage alone are not enough without purpose and direction,” says John F. Kennedy. Purpose is the key to massive success. Purpose is, perhaps, the greatest tools for achieving a great measure of success. As we can see, all the greatest achievers in history have been men and women of purpose. They never lived like they came to be served, instead they leave no one in doubt that they came to serve. They reveal to all keen observers that it is in the process of serving or giving that the storm of success is unleashed.
How do I find my purpose?
I know exactly what you're thinking. The challenge for most people is that they don't even know what purpose is let alone be able to find it. If that's you, don't worry because you're not alone. Some people are lucky to discover their life calling early, others stumbled on theirs by chance, still some people encountered their epiphany in a period of tension. It doesn't matter how old you are, what is true is that a lot has happened to signal to your mission in life, but as we humans live mostly unconsciously, it's easy to ignore anything that doesn't appeal to our immediate gratification. Take time to think and try to appreciate your life experiences, good or bad. But in my next post on this topic, I will show you the merits of having a clear sense of purpose and an idea of how to discover your life purpose. In the meantime...
Get Inspired!
This is where to start - raise your standard and opinion about yourself. Nobody is ordinary; everybody, including you, is special. This should give you a food for thought. If I'm special and not a happenstance, then I must be here for a special purpose, regardless of what anybody thinks of me. What might that purpose be? The answer is hidden somewhere in the subconscious regions of your being. To get a clue on how to find out, come back for the follow up to this article. Until then have a fulfilling week. Good luck.