The Greatness Project

Finding Our Purpose

January 15, 2005

The question, “Why are you here?” might elicit the memory of a boring philosophy class or the beginning of a long sermon. Still, how we answer this question has a profound impact on our life, our motivation, and our sense of self. Examine the lives of great individuals and you find they are filled with purpose. Their lives are energized and pulled relentlessly toward a goal or purpose that infuses everything they do. All of us need to be useful; we want to know that our life matters. Yet too often before we grasp our purpose, we lose ourselves in busy lives and find ourselves wondering where the years went and what we were trying to accomplish. Identifying our purpose, no matter what our age, gives our life direction, meaning, and power.

The work of identifying life purpose, whether at home or work, can be a great challenge. One school of thought suggests that we have to “discover” our purpose, as though it’s hidden somewhere in the universe. Our job is to find it, otherwise it will waste away. This implies that someone or something decides our purpose and hides it for us to find. This might seem comforting: we don’t have to take full responsibility for our purpose in life, it was given to us.

A second school of thought suggests we all have gifts and abilities to do something purposeful in this world. The immense power of free will confers upon us the responsibility and burden of identifying how we will affect the world around us. Essentially, we decide our purpose and take full responsibility for living it out. This concept is much more challenging, yet also much more freeing.

We can discern our purpose by meditating on the questions of “what do I have to offer” and “where can I make an impact?” Yet in the final analysis, understanding our purpose in life is something we sense. Beyond a rational conclusion, it is instinctive and intuitive. Discovering our purpose in life requires us to search with our heart and soul.

As we ponder our life purpose, we need to consider the question: “How can I affect the world a little at a time?" We might like to change the world on a grand scale, but it’s more likely that we will have a more modest impact. Robert Kennedy said, “Few of us will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events…. It is from numberless acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.”

In December, we were flying back from our last trip of 2004. The flight had been delayed for three hours, cancelled, and reinstated when we finally boarded. Most of the passengers and flight attendants were surly. Carol, our flight attendant was different. She defused most of the anger with her smile and attentiveness, even getting many of us to laugh. During the flight, when we questioned her about how she was able be so gracious in difficult circumstances, she replied, “There is so much anger in the world; I just try every day to bring in some happiness.”

“What is our purpose in life?” Understanding our life purpose draws us closer each day to fulfilling that purpose, while also linking daily events toward a significant goal. “The great and glorious masterpiece of [humanity] is how to live with purpose,” offered Michel de Montaigne. The question of purpose invites us to examine why we are here and, more importantly, what we will leave for others when we’re gone.