Two Ways to Uncover Your Purpose
Finding your unique path to a meaningful life
Hands up if you’re searching for a greater sense of purpose.
If you didn’t put your hand up, fantastic, you have found what many of us are searching for - that something to quench the yearning for more meaning in our lives.
Purpose, often described as the driving force behind our actions and aspirations, is the compass that guides us, providing clarity and direction in our pursuits.
It not only defines our why, it is how we express it and is at the core of what we do.
With it, we feel a sense of value in our lives and our contribution. For life to not be a pure Groundhog Day existence of simply trudging through another twenty-four hours. Instead, we feel like we are deliberately moving toward something meaningful.
Having a lack of purpose can have negative impacts on our physical and mental well-being. In fact, the idea of purpose is so important that an entire school in psychotherapy named logotherapy is based on it.
Feeling that you have a sense of purpose in life may help you live longer. According to researcher Patrick Hill, "Our findings point to the fact that finding a direction for life, and setting overarching goals for what you want to achieve can help you actually live longer, regardless of when you find your purpose." (1)
Power of Purpose
Those who know me or have followed me for a while know that I went on an expedition down that Nile. It took two years to organise, drained my savings and consumed my life, but I loved it. The sense of purpose I got from it was profound. And it was brought home to me even more when the expedition was underway with endless challenges to overcome.
One highlighted the power of purpose. It was day six and we had a terrifying encounter with a hippo. In summary, a female hippo charged us and bit into the back of the raft I was on.
We got to safety and the guys I was with patched the raft. The thought of getting back on the river, knowing we had weeks of dealing with these river monsters ahead, filled me with dread, in that sick-to-the-stomach way.
I checked in with myself to see what to do – continue or stop. When I considered the latter and walking away from this expedition, every cell in my body said ‘no’, and that I should keep going. I would never describe myself as particularly courageous, but at that moment, I felt my courage fuelled by the meaning this trip held for me.
It has been shown that individuals with a strong sense of purpose exhibit higher levels of resilience when facing setbacks. When we are driven by a deep-rooted purpose, our perspective shifts from our fears to the pursuit of something greater. Purpose acts as a beacon, guiding us through adversity and motivating us to confront our fears.
When we have that driving us from a force from within, we find fuel for courage, determination and persistence.
Two options to find purpose
For those who want more meaning and purpose in their lives there are two options:
see greater meaning in what you’re currently doing
do something else
Dial-up what you're doing
There’s a TV advert for McCain’s chips here in Australia. The woman starts by asking, ‘Why do we say always we’re not doing anything special just because it’s not a special occasion?’ She walks through a number of scenes with friends and family, commenting:
‘Dinner with my best mates…nothing special.’
‘Watching a movie with my soul mate…nothing special.’
‘Having dinner with the family who I’d literally die for…nothing special.’
It finishes with, ‘There’s something special about nothing special.’ I love that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=213dXuxjLQI
The messaging we are bombarded with makes it easy to take for granted the everyday ‘special’. We get driven by this constant search for more, feeling this is not meaningful enough.
Perhaps if we are more mindful during our daily activities and appreciative of those moments along with the value they bring to us and others, maybe we can find more meaning in them.
Then we can then look for ways to dial them up. You’re seeing a friend or family – is there something you can do for them, share with them, give them? If your kids are involved in, for example, a community sports group – can you help that organisation in some way?
I recently felt a lack of purpose, particularly in the giving back space. So I looked for where I might be able to add some value and ran a Working in Lifesaving initiative at North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club where I’m a long-service member. I got to work with some wonderful people to brainstorm and run events aimed at getting more women involved in leadership at the club. Plus I became a mentor in the club’s women’s mentoring program. Both brought the meaning I was looking for.
At work, can you mentor people around you? New joiners to the organisation – help, motivate and inspire them in their work. Perhaps run a lunch and learn session. Can you help your team see the value in their work and what they do? A study at Northwestern University (2) on the power of purpose found that individuals engaged in meaningful work are more engaged, committed, intrinsically motivated, and show greater involvement in organisational citizenship.
Bring a little vision to the mission.
If you’re tasking someone in the team to deliver a project, make it clear the value it brings, and why it’s important. That way it doesn’t just feel like more work to them, but instead that they are making a difference.
We don’t have to be on some lifelong mission to solve the world’s problems to call it purpose. It’s around us every day in the lives we touch. More meaning can be found by simply using your talents to help family, friends and the community around us. Find ways to dial it up, and on the way you might undercover some greater passion and calling.
Option two is do something else
Sitting, waiting for inspiration to hit you isn’t gonna work. Weeks, months or even years of ‘searching’ too often is just hoping. Buying lottery tickets, and dreaming of what life could be like, is not searching.
You can’t change the direction of a car unless it’s moving.
You need to take action and build some momentum. Harking back to purpose doesn’t have to change the world, simply trying new things might uncover what you’re looking for. Don’t overthink it, just open some new doors:
try a new sport or hobby
volunteer
take a class in something new
undertake a challenge of some kind e.g. a marathon
Create a curiosity list – things you’ve thought about doing or trying. Try and add something new to it each week or even daily. And then start ticking it off.
Some of these might feel like a temporary solution – that’s ok. At its core, the power of purpose is self-discovery. Uncovering our passions, values and unique strengths enables us to unearth our purpose and lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
When you feel yourself lit up by what you're doing – dig deeper. It could be something small that you get a bit of a kick out of, that makes you shine a tiny bit lighter. What is it about that? How else could you do that? How could you fuel that fire to burn even brighter?
Open new doors and see where it takes you.
In closing
When we find those things that bring us a true sense of purpose we find:
our courage increases
our well-being improves
our grit and perseverance develop, and
we get more creative and innovative.
We deal with the obstacles that inevitably come up because we have the drive and motivation to tackle them. And through it all we grow and get closer to becoming a better version of ourselves and tap into the potential we have.
All of that has a ripple effect on those around us – our colleagues, friends and family. For them to search for what fires them up and brings them meaning.
The power of purpose is an inexhaustible source of motivation, inspiration, and fulfilment. Whether on an individual level or within organisations, finding purpose unlocks hidden potential. By discovering purpose and aligning it with meaningful actions, we become catalysts for positive change and contribute to a better, brighter future for ourselves and those around us.
Sarah x
Ref.
1. Association for Psychological Science. "Having a sense of purpose may add years to your life." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 May 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140512124308.htm>.
2. Alison Alexander, Northwestern University. ”The Power of Purpose: How Organizations are Making Work More Meaningful” 2016. < https://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/masters-learning-and-organizational-change/knowledge-lens/stories/2016/the-power-of-purpose-how-organizations-are-making-work-more-meaningful.html>