“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
― Howard Thurman
“The best advice I have is: Don’t think ‘What is my life purpose?’ think about ‘exploring’ purpose and ‘connecting’ with it. Take the pressure off.”
3 Tips to get Started on Connecting With Purpose*
1. Reflect on How You Are Wired
What do you value? Can you list your core values? Have you every taken a personality quiz, and if yes, what did you learn about yourself? What are your top skills? Overall, how connected are you right now to how you tick? (A.K.A. How you are wired.)
2. Reflect on How You are Inspired
When was the last time you were super-stoked to be in the moment? When was the last time you were proud? What brings you inspiration? What are you passionate about? (A.K.A. How you’re inspired.)
3. Draw a Venn Diagram of Wired & Inspired
Taking time to reflect on how you are wired, how you’re inspired and the overlapping region between these two, is where you get to explore your sense of purpose.
4. Meditate
… because some questions can’t be answered by Google!
5. Pay Attention
Once you embark on this journey of exploring how you are wired and how you’re inspired, if you pay attention, you’ll start to notice the things that light you up, the things you enjoy, how you tick, and more.
*This blog post addresses the sense of purpose we have as humans… You know, frolicking around in our biological spacesuits… Interestingly, according to Pew Research, 90% of adults in the USA believe in the afterlife. For that 90% they likely ponder a larger-than-life purpose: a spiritual purpose. From a spiritual perspective then, purpose can be quite simple: The foundation of everything (even the universe) is conscious awareness, described (based on NDE research) with such words as boundless, love, timeless, warmth, compelling, home, etc. Taken as the foundational truth (love), the spiritual purpose for us earthlings could perhaps then be articulated simply as:
“I’m here to expand what already exists within my consciousness and that of everyone around me (love)… to connect to the beautiful, perfect energy inside us all… Seeing from a place of love, expansion, kindness, compassion, and non-judgement. I’m here to shine love into the world and into others. To amplify the one truth that is love, and to call back to love anything which has been imprinted with the energy of anything other than love. I am here to serve, to amplify and breathe life and love and joy to all around me.”
Love this Stuff? Why Not Run a ‘Me on Purpose’ Workshop?
Why Bother?
The science shows that those having a strong sense of purpose:
- live longer
- have less chance of cardiovascular events (stroke, heart attack, coronary artery disease)
- have healthier brains
- have improved relationships
- have healthier immune systems
Connecting with purpose (at any age) can help you live longer, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Those with a low sense of purpose (as measured by psychological surveys) are more likely to have a stroke, heart attack, or coronary artery disease requiring surgery. Randy Cohen, MD’s study on purpose (Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine) showed that for people with a high sense of purpose (as compared with the “low” group) there was a 23 percent reduction in mortality and a 19 percent reduction in cardiovascular events. On a similar note, the Memory and Aging Project found that those with purpose were 44% less likely to have a stroke.
According to four studies conducted as part of the the Memory and Aging Project, subjects who scored higher on the purpose scale were:
- 29% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment
- 52% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease
- 2 ½ times more likely to be free of dementia
- 44% less likely to have a stroke
- 52.3% less likely to have microscopic blood vessel infarcts (this basically mean dead crap in your blood) that damage brain tissue
(Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/purpose-life-good-your-health/ )
A sense of purpose also strengthens the immune system. High levels of eudaemonic well-being were associated with lessened inflammatory response and increased antibody production.
There is also a ton of science which shows how affirming your values can impact your life profoundly, in many positive ways. One such article is here, but ask Google for more and Google will oblige.