The Importance of Having A Purpose

The Importance of Having A Purpose

1. Meaning and fulfillment.

A purpose gives you increased depth and meaning in life. Instead of wasting time every day questioning reality and existence, you spend every day pursuing a cause which is worthy to you. When you start living a life of purpose, everything you see, touch and do suddenly brims with meaning and fulfillment. The fulfillment you get is simply incomparable.

2. Unlimited flow of drive and passion.

Is your daily life filled with enthusiasm and joy or is it bogged down by dread and weariness? My purpose charges me up with so much energy, drive and passion that it just overflows and oozes through me. It is like an unlimited energy well! Every morning, I bound out of bed and in full enthusiasm for what is ahead. At night, I just dread going to sleep because I much rather be living out my purpose.
The simple thought of me being given the chance to pursue this for the rest of my existence fuels me with so much energy. Often times I feel so happy that I cannot stop smiling, even when I am by myself. In contrast, I find that people around me who have not laid out their conscious purpose behave like drones numbly living out their existence.

3. Instant focus and direction.

If you often find yourself fluttering about your life from one fad to the next, you lack a directional focus. A purpose serves as a lighthouse that guides us through our lives, work, relationships, decisions, right up to our daily actions.
Imagine if you are a ship and your life is a vast ocean. A life without purpose is an aimless ship on the sea. Do you want to be an aimless ship or do you want to take charge and start putting its course in your hands? You may have the navigational system (your mind and body), but if you never lock in on a course (purpose), you will always remain drifting and bobbing aimlessly around in the ocean, subjected to the whimsicalities of the tides and weather (externalities like society and the world). If you choose to coast aimlessly, you might end up marooned in an island or even capsized in the sea at some point.
For example, when I first defined my purpose (you’ll read more in Part 4), it was like there was a compass planted in me. Suddenly, I could see what were the paths that would help me live my best life, and what were the paths that wouldn’t. I realized the path I was going in (my corporate career) wasn’t going to bring me to where I want to be, and continuing down that line would move me away from my vision. While it wasn’t like I quit my job immediately, it set in place the intention and mental plans to depart a few years later.
On a micro-level, knowing my mission statement enabled me to get the maximum out of my day-to-day life. Suddenly, there was crystal clear clarity on the things I should do or not; and decisions to make. Before I take on any activity or engagement, I would ask myself “Does this help me live in alignment with my mission? Or is there something else I can do which will help me achieve that better?” If the answer is positive, I’ll take it on. If the answer is negative, I’ll say no. Within the context of an activity/project, I’ll ask myself “What can I do that will help me live truest to my mission?” And I’ll take on those actions.
If I hadn’t identified my mission statement then, I would never have the same level of clarity and focus I have today. Everything I’ve undertaken since the day I set my mission statement in 2006 has been a conscious action in alignment with my mission. For example, after creating my mission in 2006, I knew that the best way to live 100% to my mission is to eventually run a personal development business. It was how I came to set up Personal Excellence and TSOPE, both of which have the same mission as my life mission.

4. Freedom from things that do not matter.

Do you find yourself torn between different areas in your life? Or perhaps you face dilemmas which you are not sure how to resolve?
A purpose gives you liberty because you now have clarity on what matters to you. By having a guiding principle to check against on what to say no to, you can consciously release yourself of issues that do not matter and solutions to dilemmas become instantly clear. Read: Quitting To Win
When you have clarity on what you want to achieve, that’s when you can arrange everything around to be congruent with your inner self. You’ll be able to select a career (or create a business) that is aligned with your mission. You’ll be in relationships that match what you want. You’ll take on projects and actions that are in accordance with what you want. It’s the start towards living a life of your highest alignment.

5. Success

Success comes about as a corollary to embracing your purpose. Imagine you are managing your life like a company. You need the equivalent of a mission statement, i.e. your purpose, to lead your life to success. Corporations like Google and Coca-cola are so successful because they have clear mission statements guiding their organizations. A company without a mission statement will have no clarity on what it needs to do. They eventually go bust or get acquired by other conglomerates which can manage it better. This has been attested again and again, in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, just to name a couple of books.
Personally, I have gotten so much more out of life after discovering my real purpose – every year of my life just seems to get better than the previous, and I have no doubt that it will get even better as I continue on my life journey.
Do not just take my word for it either. The only way for you to find out how living life with purpose is like is for you to experience it for a period, say, a month. Identify your purpose (we’ll be doing this in Part-6 of the series), then live it to the fullest for 1 month.
If at that point you decide you prefer living without a purpose, you are always free to relinquish it and revert to your former life. After all, what is the worst thing that can happen? At the end of the 1 month, you’d have gained clarity on how you want to live your life, rather than wonder if you’re better off with or without a purpose. There’s everything to gain and nothing to lose.