What is purpose?
Is purpose a destination or a journey? Is it created or pre-determined? Where does it come from? Do we all have one? Does everything have one?
Dictionary Definition
pur·pose [ púrpəss ]
- reason for existence: the reason for which something exists or for which it has been done or made
- desired effect: the goal or intended outcome of something
- determination: the desire or the resolve necessary to accomplish a goal
Jullien’s Definition
Purpose is your ultimate reason why.
Purpose can manifest in many ways. I think there are higher purposes and lower ones. According to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs, our purpose from lower to higher include:
- physiological: to be nourished
- safety: to enstill a sense of secure
- love and belonging: to be a part of a community
- esteem: to achieve and be respected
- self-actualization: to reach our highest potential
Another way to look at it is by examining the purpose of a cup. A cup can hold liquids, hold pens, trap insects, or be used in a game of catch among other things. So how do we know its highest purpose? The only way to know is by asking the creator of the cup. So if we want to know why we were created, we must establish a relationship and conversation with our Creator. Our highest purpose is manifested where our highest contribution is made.
It true that every inventor may not have been aware of the ultimate impact of what they created. A telological perspective suggests that everything in nature has a divine purpose and that function comes before form. In other words, we have eyes to see rather than thinking that we see because we have eyes. In the Divine Mind, humans had a need to see and that purpose was fulfilled through eyes.
I think we’re born with a purpose, calling, destiny, or intention from our Creator, but it continues to get repurposed as we and the world change. For example, take an ice cream scoop and a snow ball scoop. Essentially they have the same function—to scoop—but when it is Winter its form is a snow ball scoop to scoop snowballs and when it is Summer its form is a ice cream scoop to scoop ice cream.
The same is true for our lives. I think we all have a unique purpose or function to fulfill in the world, however it can manifest in a multitude of ways. Let’s say that your purpose or underlying function is to heal. Most people limit this function to the form of choosing to be a doctor as a profession, but there are tons of other forms of healing such as writing, dancing, meditation, teaching, permaculture, etc. Doctors are known for their healing spirits, but a healing spirit can manifest in almost any career.
I’ve often thought of my purpose as a GPS—it’s the driving force that guides me through life, especially times of uncertainty. It is my source of direction with every decision I make. Purpose is not the destination we plug into the GPS, it’s who we are and become along the journey. To me, a deep sense of purpose is the highest intrinsic motivator there is. Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, said “A man who knows his why can bear almost any how,” and this understanding helped him endure through a Nazi internment camp.
As human beings we have the gift of giving meaning to anything—a moment that brought joy or pain, a look from someone, a bird we keep seeing, or a word we keep hearing . Why is this happening to me? How is this happening for me? Why am I doing this? Why am I going to do that? Why did I do that? This gift is most powerful when it is determined before an action or decision because the challenge becomes living in alignment with that purpose despite external forces and influences. After an action or decision, it is just justification
Here’s one meaning that I’ve given to my life to help me understand my purpose. Imagine that before you born, in some spiritual world, you decided to create an obstacle course called life to remind you of who you are because you knew that when you were born, you would forget that you created this experience for yourself. You created mountains just high enough to push you to your limits. You put people on your path that would make you uncomfortable with their wisdom or way of life because you knew they would help expand your limited definition of self. How would you approach life, obstacles, and people if you thought of life in this way? How would you define the purpose of life?
I think Robert Byrne said it best when he wrote “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” May you find your purpose and live in perfect alignment with it for on that path I believe you will make your greatest contribution and find your fullest fulfillment.
