Life has evolved from the simplest molecules to the complex organisms we see around us today. That took millions of years. (See A Song of Humanity by Only One Man.)
Religions will tell you that god has a purpose for you. Or not. I’ve met people who are waiting for “god” to reveal to them what their calling or purpose in life is. Many say they have been “called” by god to some kind of ministry or other.
YOUR purpose in life is what you make it. In my view, don’t wait for someone else to tell you what it is or should be. In my 40+ years of studying human behavior in organizations, I’ve become convinced that we create our own purposes in life whether its to cure cancer, sell more widgets than anyone else or provide people with warm and appropriately cooled homes.
I’ve had three last names—won’t bore you with why. I’ve wondered about my three heritages and what they mean for me. On my father’s side, there are four generations of alcoholics—possessors of the D2 addictive allele. One of my purposes was to break that genetic chain. I did.
Later in life I learned about Collins’ Hedgehog Concept in which success is found at the intersection of a) love of an activity, b) skill at that activity, and c) monetary value in that activity. I later learned about Flow (Flow by Csikszentmihalyi) Resonance (Powered by Feel by Clawson and Newburg), and the process of being in the “zone.” Having spent 35 years in a very comprehensive, conservative religion which included the dilemmas of how a loving, all-powerful father-god could create a world in which 1% were schizophrenic and 10% had gender ambiguity and included all kinds of horrible birth defects, I had a mid-life crisis.
I started over again at 48 with a zero-based, blank slate approach to figuring out how the world worked, relying on my own research rather than what a limited group of people told me. I came out in a very different place: the world is an evolved environment. There is no higher, divine purpose in life, other than the one that you personally create for yourself. We can look at biographies from all over the world and see clearly the purposes that others have created for themselves. Some claim that those purposes were “given” to them by a god. Why them and not everyone else?
So, here’s my answer. The purpose of life is four-fold:
Mine is no more important or noble than one who spends their life laying sewer pipe to deliver clean, disease-free water to people or repairing automobiles to help people move around freely or whatever profession you choose. All are necessary in a complex world.
The difference is that many if not most people go to work hating what they do and their daily routine. They give minimal energy to their jobs waiting impatiently for quitting time. PURPOSE IN LIFE COMES INSIDE OUT. If you can create your purpose in life, you will find more energy, be more productive, be more satisfied, and more of a contributor to people around you.
Don’t wait to hear your purpose in life. Create your purpose in life. Find what you love doing that you are good at and that people will pay you money for doing. Then adopt the Greek term “arete” (excellence what you do) and become a craftsman, an artisan, someone who loves what they do because it defines their purpose in life.
Consider the three bricklayers. In reply to the reporter’s question, “what are you doing?” the first one said, “I’m laying brick. Millions of effing bricks.” The second one said, “I’m building a long wall, forty feet high.” The third one said, “I’m building a cathedral in which people will worship their god so it has to be perfect in order to contribute to that overall feeling.” While I view cathedrals as majestic, emotion creating architectures built to non-existent beings, I admire the clarity of purpose the third brick-layer displayed. Imagine how each of these “workers” went to work each day.
Finally, some people’s apparent purpose in life is to make as much money as they can. It is what it is. And I have more respect and admiration for people who become wealthy doing what they love to do who share their fortunes with the communities around them. Not just creating jobs, but also contributing to those who were born with less privilege. I admire the “net-contributors” more than the “net-extractors.” People who give more than they take. People who care about the poor and homeless. Not doles—they seem to produce lethargy. But support for those who do what they can and can’t do enough to live on.
Okay, my purpose in life is “to help people find themselves.” What’s yours?
Religions will tell you that god has a purpose for you. Or not. I’ve met people who are waiting for “god” to reveal to them what their calling or purpose in life is. Many say they have been “called” by god to some kind of ministry or other.
YOUR purpose in life is what you make it. In my view, don’t wait for someone else to tell you what it is or should be. In my 40+ years of studying human behavior in organizations, I’ve become convinced that we create our own purposes in life whether its to cure cancer, sell more widgets than anyone else or provide people with warm and appropriately cooled homes.
I’ve had three last names—won’t bore you with why. I’ve wondered about my three heritages and what they mean for me. On my father’s side, there are four generations of alcoholics—possessors of the D2 addictive allele. One of my purposes was to break that genetic chain. I did.
Later in life I learned about Collins’ Hedgehog Concept in which success is found at the intersection of a) love of an activity, b) skill at that activity, and c) monetary value in that activity. I later learned about Flow (Flow by Csikszentmihalyi) Resonance (Powered by Feel by Clawson and Newburg), and the process of being in the “zone.” Having spent 35 years in a very comprehensive, conservative religion which included the dilemmas of how a loving, all-powerful father-god could create a world in which 1% were schizophrenic and 10% had gender ambiguity and included all kinds of horrible birth defects, I had a mid-life crisis.
I started over again at 48 with a zero-based, blank slate approach to figuring out how the world worked, relying on my own research rather than what a limited group of people told me. I came out in a very different place: the world is an evolved environment. There is no higher, divine purpose in life, other than the one that you personally create for yourself. We can look at biographies from all over the world and see clearly the purposes that others have created for themselves. Some claim that those purposes were “given” to them by a god. Why them and not everyone else?
So, here’s my answer. The purpose of life is four-fold:
- Find your Resonance (the thing that engages you passionately)
- Invest in your Resonance (practice, rehearse, learn, refine, build)
- Enjoy your Resonance (realize that when you are in Flow or Resonance or the Zone, life doesn’t get any better and enjoy that moment)
- Help others find their Resonance. Imagine the potential energy you could unleash if you could do this with your team, your family, your group(s).
Mine is no more important or noble than one who spends their life laying sewer pipe to deliver clean, disease-free water to people or repairing automobiles to help people move around freely or whatever profession you choose. All are necessary in a complex world.
The difference is that many if not most people go to work hating what they do and their daily routine. They give minimal energy to their jobs waiting impatiently for quitting time. PURPOSE IN LIFE COMES INSIDE OUT. If you can create your purpose in life, you will find more energy, be more productive, be more satisfied, and more of a contributor to people around you.
Don’t wait to hear your purpose in life. Create your purpose in life. Find what you love doing that you are good at and that people will pay you money for doing. Then adopt the Greek term “arete” (excellence what you do) and become a craftsman, an artisan, someone who loves what they do because it defines their purpose in life.
Consider the three bricklayers. In reply to the reporter’s question, “what are you doing?” the first one said, “I’m laying brick. Millions of effing bricks.” The second one said, “I’m building a long wall, forty feet high.” The third one said, “I’m building a cathedral in which people will worship their god so it has to be perfect in order to contribute to that overall feeling.” While I view cathedrals as majestic, emotion creating architectures built to non-existent beings, I admire the clarity of purpose the third brick-layer displayed. Imagine how each of these “workers” went to work each day.
Finally, some people’s apparent purpose in life is to make as much money as they can. It is what it is. And I have more respect and admiration for people who become wealthy doing what they love to do who share their fortunes with the communities around them. Not just creating jobs, but also contributing to those who were born with less privilege. I admire the “net-contributors” more than the “net-extractors.” People who give more than they take. People who care about the poor and homeless. Not doles—they seem to produce lethargy. But support for those who do what they can and can’t do enough to live on.
Okay, my purpose in life is “to help people find themselves.” What’s yours?
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