What’s the Purpose?

“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be ‘happy.’ I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is above all, to matter; to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”

Leo Calvin Rosten

I’ve Been Thinking. . . about the ideal Life. I must admit my perspective on the ‘ideal life’ has gone through some alteration over the years.

In my early years, happiness was certainly a pursuit. Then, I realized happiness was a fleeting emotion and frankly I was responsible for my level of happiness. Comfort. That was another priority for awhile. Boring! The desire for security slowly evolved into a willingness to explore new ideas, adventures and approaches. You get the idea.

Rosten’s quote speaks directly to my heart. I want to live in a way that counts; that stands for something, that makes some difference. I’ll admit I haven’t figured it all out but I know it will require a daily reigniting of commitment and energy to live above the daily grind, the ordinary.

What would your ideal life look like? What does your current life look like? How does it compare to the ideal? What are the gaps? How far apart is the ideal from the real?

Think about this – our life will become exactly what we decide it to be and we will experience what we want most. You might say, “Wait a minute. My life is nothing like I want it to be. In fact, I’m experiencing far from what I want and even farther from the ideal.”

I understand. And, I would respond, “If that is true, what action are you taking to close the gap between the real and the ideal? What is your vision for the future?” You show me your vision, and I can predict your future.

Listen (or read) carefully. There are people who are chained to their past and therefore never create a fresh outlook for the future. Other people are so caught up thinking about the future; they fail to take care of the present.

I’ve learned the past is a marvelous and sometimes painful teacher, the present is filled with opportunity and the future is not something to be feared but enthusiastically pursued.

Without a vision for the future, you will be trapped by the ensnarling enemy called “average” or “good enough.” Without a solid purpose, it is difficult to wrap your arms around a vision that makes sense. When you establish a purpose for your life, it will shape your vision for the future, give you a desire to make significant things happen in your life and instill a desire to change the way things are.

The ideal life is a life that evolves around a purpose. God is pleased when you are doing what He designed you to do. Take it from Bertrice Berry who said, “When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny.”

Are you striving to just make it through each day? Are you dreaming about a different kind of life but don’t really have any direction? Are you unclear about the difference you can make in other people’s lives? Is there a reason for you to get up in the morning beyond the need to make a living?

If you want your life to be something different than it is, then you are going to have to do something different than you’ve ever done. It has been said that, “unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.” The truth is, unhappy people don’t know what they want and so they don’t have a focus… a purpose that drives their life. Unfortunately, so many of these people desperately try to make sense out of life and wear themselves out without ever finding happiness or satisfaction.

Simply, their lives are purposeless.

My simple purpose in life is “to positively impact the lives of people.” I shutter to think of the number of times I’ve fallen short of this lofty ideal. But one thing I know, the more I fulfill that simple purpose, the closer my life gets to experiencing the ideal.

“You are here for a purpose. There is not a duplicate of you in the whole wide world; there never has been there never will be. You were brought here now to fill a certain need. Take time to think that over.”

Lou Austin