What is my purpose, what am I doing here? Why am I here, at this very time, in this place, in this life? Where am I going? What is the meaning of life? Is this all there is to life? If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these (or related) questions, I’m sure you already understand the importance of this 15th key to personal empowerment, the power of purpose.
The lack of finding satisfactory answers to these and similar questions can be very dangerous to our mental health and can rob us of the life in abundance we should be living. In this non-academic article, I want to share the importance of “finding” your purpose in life, as well as a few practical tips to help you.
What is The Power of Purpose?
First things first: What is meant by the term purpose and what is the difference between a goal, a purpose and meaning? Because these 3 concepts are very similar and easily confused, I did some research on each of them and came to the following conclusion: Goals are about doing, while meaning and purpose are about being.
A Goal is an action – The What. A list that can be (or want to be) accomplished and ticked off. You can have exercise goals, weightloss goals, budget goals, relationship goals. For example: My partner and I want to have a child.
Meaning is a reason – The Why. The importance we attach to the goal. For example: We want a descendant to carry our name.
And Purpose is the impact we want to have in the world. For example: We want to be the best parents possible for our child.
Having a purpose helps you set goals to reach the purpose.
Goals are your compass to guide you on your journey to reach your destination, or your purpose. If too much attention is given to goals, we can easily lose perspective and become consumed by all those questions above. Because our compass doesn’t have a set final destination and just navigates us aimlessly from one goal to the next. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Two Major, but common, Myths (Dr Louis Awerbuck, clinical psychologist in South Africa)
When we look at the power of purpose in life, there are two major myths most people believe:
- It must be something grand, mysterious even magical, and
- It’s something that needs to be found.
Let me put you at ease here: Your life purpose is not hiding from you. You don’t need to travel, walk the camino or go through hardships to find your purpose. A purpose is not a noun. You can’t see or touch it. Therefor it can’t be found. You need to create your purpose. And the good news is that you don’t need to be artistic or creative, or need rare materials in order to create this purpose. You already have what it takes! It’s critical, so I will repeat this:
YOU need to CREATE YOUR purpose.
And RECREATE it regularly as you age and your circumstances change.
Mindfully create a life purpose daily in the little things you do: at work and in your relationships, whether it’s your friendships, your marriage or your relationship with God. Set a destination every day that aligns with your values. Find inner joy and -worth in your daily activities regardless of outside influences, and accept the fact that you have little control over most of those outside influences – yikes! So what can you control? You can only control (1) what you create, (2) how you react and (3) how you treat others.
Purpose is an attitude, an emotion, an experience and a perception that once created nobody can take away from you, like Austrian holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, discovered. He lost everything in the concentration camps in the 1940’s, but still managed to create a purpose in that suffering. He also saw the devastating consequences of those around him who “lost” their purpose.
Create your purpose REGARDLESS of those outside influences. Let it become another successful habit with all the associated benefits that goes with it.
The benefits of creating your purpose
- Symptoms of depression and anxiety diminish.
- Physical health improves. Having a sense of purpose counter the negative effects of the stress hormone, cortisol; it repairs the immune system, calms the heart rate and lowers blood sugar!
- Promotes longevity.
- Sleep improves.
- Risk of Alzheimer’s disease reduced.
- Promotes successful habits in order to accomplish your purpose.
- Strengthens personal relationships.
- Improves your self-image.
The danger of living without purpose
An existential crisis can occur when people start to question the meaning and purpose of their lives on the long run without finding satisfying answers. This can cause symptoms of depression and anxiety, a loss of inner joy and -peace and a general sense of hopelessness. In short: it robs us of the life in abundance that we should be living. Not finding answers to life’s Big Questions often leaves us confused, doubting our self-worth and feeling that we don’t serve any purpose. Do you see the destructive snow-ball effect here?
Of course it doesn’t mean that you should never ask these questions, but you need to understand that not all questions have answers. For the believer: In 1 Cor 13:12 Paul compares this phenomenon to a blurred reflection in a mirror. Now, while we are still on earth, we will only know in part, but once we get to heaven, we will know fully – meaning, we will have all the answers to all the questions! What a prospect!
Creating your purpose in life can help you break free from the existential crisis snow-ball. Here are a few tips on creating your purpose:
Tips on creating your purpose
- Cultivate positive emotions like AWE, GRATITUDE and GENEROSITY. I have written full articles on each of them as individual keys, so I won’t go into the details again. I just want to add that experiencing awe, or feeling small in the company of something bigger, is not enough to create your purpose. You also need motivation to make the world a better place. A study found that people who frequently help others (e.g. by volunteering or donating money) tend to have a greater sense of purpose in their lives.
- Use past hurts to help others. Think back to a time that you really struggled to get through. Think about the lessons you learned during that time. Mostly, you only realize the positive lessons and the Why? afterwards, when you look back, and not during the time of hurt. Realize that you can use those times of hardships to teach others going through the same struggles how to cope. Or simply encourage them not to give up. Not only will this attitude cultivate resilience, it will also create a sense that there can be a purpose in any hardship.
- Tell your story. Now write those positive lessons you learned down in a journal. Also ask yourself how you got through that time, who helped you, what strengths helped you, and what weaknesses made it difficult for you to overcome. Sooner or later somebody will cross your path that you need to share this story with. If you are brave, you can even share your story on social media, and help many people you don’t even know!
- Read books. Writing can help you create purpose, and so can reading. Rick Warren wrote a book, The Purpose driven Life, which I can highly recommend to any believer. It’s also insightful, inspiring and uplifting to read Viktor Frankl’s book: Man’s search for Meaning. He explains the importance of purpose when you find yourself in a hopeless situation. Furthermore, it looks like it’s beneficial to read the Bible. Leslie Francis studied a group of nearly 26 000 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15, and found that those who read the Bible, tended to have a stronger sense of purpose!
- Find your community and surround yourself with others. An existential crisis is often a symptom of isolation. Although you might enjoy your own company occasionally, humans were created as social beings. According to our user manual, we are operating best when we are in healthy, meaningful relationships.
The Power of Purpose for the believer:
The Lord wants you to know that He has plans for your life and that He is in control of those plans. And they are good plans! (Jer 29:11). He has known your divine purpose even before you existed. That is so reassuring and exciting, hallelujah! Knowing and believing that truth removes any trace of purpose anxiety. Yet even in that, we sometimes want to overcomplicate our Godly purpose – Myth nr 1.
My comprehension of Godly purpose is quite simple: God created everything in the universe to glorify Him – including us. He wants us (1) to love Him and draw closer to God, (2) to love one another (with love being an action verb), (3) to praise and worship Him alone, (4) to spread the gospel and (5) to keep our eyes unwavering on Jesus.
If you submit and let yourself be led by His Holy Spirit, He will not only equip you to be able to fulfill your Godly purpose, He will also guide you and lead you towards a more specific purpose. Just wait upon the Lord and trust Him with that!
After completing the 20-hour virtual online Transformation Coaching System™ that I use, you will be able to effortlessly create purpose in your everyday life. As soon as you drop your mental and emotional baggage, you will Travel Lightly through life with a renewed sense of purpose.
Contact me TODAY for a free 30 min online Session!
Learn more about the power of purpose with me. I am a certified Transformation Life Coach operating in Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape of South Africa. I also do virtual online life coaching sessions, so no matter where you are situated, all you need is an internet connection, a mobile phone or computer, and a space where you can meet with me uninterruptedly once a week for two hours.
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The next key #16 to personal empowerment (becoming the best version of yourself) is the POWER OF CREATIVITY.
REFERENCES:
https://www.rsg.co.za/rsg/potgooi-resultaat/?_sft_category=wie-is-ek-potgooi&post_date=20230421, https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/blog/changepower/202108/10-powerful-benefits-of-living-with-purpose, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_purpose_in_life, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249000391_The_relationship_between_bible_reading_and_purpose_in_life_among_13-15-year-olds, https://www.healthline.com/health/existential-crisis#what-is-it, https://www.6seconds.org/2021/03/29/goals-purpose-and-meaning/,
