ONE - Purpose is not about reaching a singular destination. Purpose is about moving in an intentional direction.
Life is often characterized as a linear path on which you make progress on by completing a successive series of steps. However, this metaphor doesn’t map onto most people’s life experience. Instead, we think that purposeful living is akin to navigating a journey full of twists and turns where each step is guided by one’s values. This metaphor is also more congruent with the trends in the modern workplace, where the notion that you’ll stay in one career for your entire working life is already a thing of the distant past. It’s estimated that at the time of graduation for a high school student, 65% of jobs they might one day hold don’t yet exist.
What does it mean to have an intentional direction without a specific destination?
TWO Purpose is not about finding the perfect job.
Purpose is about connecting to a deeper “why” in your work and in all areas of your life.
What is more important – to find a great job or to find deep meaning in any job? In a study of hospital custodial staff, researchers found that hospital workers who felt connected to the deeper “why” of their role (serving and healing patients) reported greater job satisfaction, spent more time with patients, worked more closely with doctors and nurses, and found more meaning in their life in general. Furthermore, research shows that when a person taps into a sense of purpose in one arena, they’re much more likely to bring it into other aspects of their life.
What does the phrase, “Purpose is about connecting to a deeper “why”, mean?
THREE Purpose is not the same as finding your passion. Purpose is about contributing to something beyond yourself.
While finding joy and building upon your strengths are both necessary aspects of purposeful living, they alone aren’t sufficient. Living with purpose is about living for yourself and others: living in a way that’s meaningful to you personally and making a positive impact on the world around you. Living with purpose isn’t only good for the health of individuals, it’s fundamental to the health of our communities and broader society.
Most of us live for our own joy or passion. Will that create a meaningful life? Why or why not?
