What is the Purpose of My Life?

by Washington Paul Uduk

Sifting through the pieces of my mind, the meaning of purpose seems obvious. Yet, this meaning evades the grasp my consciousness attempts to hold on its direct meaning. Direction is a good place to start. It doesn’t give a resolve to the meaning I inquire, but it has gotten me started. 

Purpose is the end point that fashions direction; regardless of the clearness of that direction to the beholder. It generates drive, determination, focus, tenacity and host of other qualities that propels a person for it's accomplishment. A purpose is an aim or goal towards which one strives.

A purpose supersedes an aim, as an aim connotes a statement that highlights a goal or end. However, lacks the drive and determination to make whatever it is purposeful. 

In his forty day devotional book Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren stated that singleness of purpose is essential for success, no matter what may be one's idea of success. Yet, singleness of purpose is a quality which may, and generally does, call for thought on many allied subjects.

An individual can discover his purpose through proper self-analysis especially in cases where the pursuit of a definite aim does not come naturally to the individual. One would have to scrutinize his mind taking into considerations various inclinations that come from talent, desires and preferences, weigh such inclinations with perceived data that come from the external world through the five senses with keen insight.

It’s easier to write the foregoing paragraph than it is to actually do it. Many a folks wonder through life in constant thought to determine a purpose they are passionate about and have be called to do, all to no avail. This prompted Cal Newport to debunk the idea in his book So Good They Can't Ignore You. He emphasized that people do not generally have purposes waiting to be discovered. The summary of his supposition is that finding the “right work” pales in importance to “working right”.  What does this premise tell us? It makes it clear that our purpose is simply what we say it and taking out time to “find” that one thing we have been called to do may not guarantee the satisfaction many of us crave.

I particularly love Earl Nightingale’s philosophy about success. In his bestselling audio The Strangest Secret he defines success as the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. In other words working towards a stated pre-defined end-point is what defines success. King Solomon of the bible proposed that working like this brings happiness when he said the activities that lead to his accomplishments were the source of his joy.

It is pointless for us to move about aimlessly in hope that one day we will be struck with luck or a revelation will put us right in the middle of what we are supposed to achieve before we die. Set out to do something that will add significant value to someone somewhere.