FINDING LIFE’S PURPOSE

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”

This brief but profound observation was recorded by Robert Byrne, an American engineer, author, and accomplished billiard player, who spent his whole life successfully engaged in all three occupations. In just a single line he succeeded in saying everything that needed to be said regarding the purpose of life. Life’s purpose is the central motivating aim for living for every one. It is the fundamental guide to all of life’s decisions, the force that directly influences all behavior, the framework that shapes all the goals, the signpost that provides directions and the formula that creates the meaning for life. Indeed, one’s life’s purpose is the reason for choosing a particular direction of life, and ultimately determining its outcome.

Human beings, unlike every other living member of the animal kingdom, are the only creatures who crave significance, meaning or purpose in their living. All of the other members of the animal kingdom spend all their lives dedicated solely to personal survival and continuation of their species, and have no interest or concern in anything else. The members of the human race alone, exhibit this unique phenomenon of contemplating their purpose for existence and their influence on the world around them and even beyond. In fact, this is the defining factor that separates man from all the other living creatures on this earth. Craving for a purpose in life is clearly the fundamental component for achieving fulfillment, and any absence of this in their life, leads to significant psychological difficulties.

More than 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle, declared that the inherent purpose of anything living can be found in the question ‘Why’ (which he referred to as Telos). To him, the answer can be found in a basic and all-inclusive description which he named Eudaimonia, which simply means that the real purpose of life was to live well and do well in the pursuit of happiness. Interestingly, this view of the fundamental purpose of life has shown very little change over the many centuries of man’s existence on earth. The Dalai Lama, reflecting the established views of Buddhism, echoed exactly the same basic sentiment when he advised:

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

         Finding his true purpose by anyone is never easy nor does it come naturally. It is never a generic factor that is common to all people and readily available on demand. Equally, quite unlike the common habits acquired during life, they cannot be copied and passed along, or acquired by learning from others. In fact, a life’s purpose can be achieved only by the individual undertaking a personal journey along his life’s path and searching for himself. It must begin by the individual clearly understanding and accepting whom he really is, and where he intends to be. And it further demands diligently avoiding the very natural pitfalls of identifying with others and travelling on their road or worse, by trying to be like them.

This undertaking is neither a simple exercise, nor is there ever a guarantee that it will be successfully achieved. It involves a number of complex emotional responses that are related to the fundamental make-up of the individual himself, his beliefs, his character and his life’s experience. It is possible that small minority of people can accidently fall upon their purpose by circumstance, pure chance, or coincidence, or even without any effort, find it clearly expressed in all aspects of their lives. But for the great majority, the process usually evolves slowly, cautiously, and meticulously, and is accompanied by many unanticipated trials and missteps. The ultimate aim however is quite clear, as Rick Warren, one of America’s most successful evangelical preachers and author of several publications, noted:

“Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason.”

Arriving at one’s life purpose is fundamentally finding the overall reason for one’s existence, the real purpose for being alive, and a clear understanding of oneself. Aristotle, very wisely recognized this when he observed:

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

To be truly meaningful, any purpose in life must first be something that is authentic and instinctive, and must be supported by absolute belief and understanding. The individual must be able to accept himself as he is, with all his weaknesses and his strengths, and must believe in himself and his identity. To be true, the purpose must of necessity be one that is uniquely individual, with aims and priorities that are favorable to him. When in place, a well developed sense of purpose will produce substantial improvements to the total overall well-being of the individual, and provide the stimulus to achieve more. It induces confidence and continuity in thinking and decision-making, improves self-esteem and optimism, and provides the impetus for trying harder and overcoming greater obstacles.

Each person’s purpose is necessarily unique to the individual, and is related to the particular path chosen. Although the aim of each ultimately is the achievement of happiness, this may present itself in a variety of different ways. But whatever is chosen, whether spiritual, intellectual or otherwise, must be accompanied by deeply held beliefs and a singular focus to neutralize the underlying uncertainties and fears that develop. Once a purpose is established, it induces a strong sense of commitment and confidence, and provides the reason for living, and strength to continue striving. Having a purpose gives meaning to life, and it is this meaning that ultimately provides the reasons for living, and for being satisfied with the life being lived.

This fact was clearly demonstrated by Viktor Frankl, the Austrian existential psychologist in his masterpiece publication, “Man’s search for meaning,” based on his experiences while a prisoner of the German Gestapo’s concentration camps during WWII. During their internment, he observed that the prisoners who retained a purpose to live, irrespective of the nature of the purpose, were much more likely to survive the brutality, torture and threats of extermination. He found that it was their power of purpose that provided their strength to continue, irrespective of the obstacles present. He was convinced that in any stressful situation, it was this power and strength of purpose that superseded all forms of needs, desires or sufferings and allowed them to continue. He confirmed this observation in the following quotation:

“In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”

Behavior psychologists insist that the developing of successful, functional purposeful lives rely much more on the body’s intrinsic factors than on extrinsic factors. In fact, the general consensus is that no more than 10% might be related to such outward factors as fame, status, money or physical and intellectual ability. Successful lives rely much more on the possession of such intrinsic factors as attitudes, values, strength of character, desires, passion and beliefs. The driving force is clearly related to the individual’s desire to search out and find the reason for living. This comes less from the examples of others and much more from their internal needs to find contentment. Because of this, there can no final endpoint at which one’s purpose is completely fulfilled, since as life and circumstances change, so will the life’s purpose. Wayne Dyer, the recently deceased, highly successful inspirational speaker and author described this very effectively using the common activity of dancing:

“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way.”

For completion, it is important to point out that this concept of a Life’s Purpose is not universally accepted, and that there are several schools of thought that absolutely deny that life has any other purpose whatsoever, other than living. To the Nihilists, a purpose of life is absurd to consider because to them, life is meaningless. They argue that since the world itself is considered to be an accident of nature, without any reason or meaning, then it would be an exercise in futility to argue that anything in the world will have any meaning. Arthur Schopenhauer, the 19^th century German philosopher, one of the leaders in the concepts of pessimism and nihilism, was quite clearly confirming this when he wrote:

“We can regard our life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful repose of nothingness. Human existence must be at best, a kind of error”

         
         There is fundamental conflict between, on the one side, those who believe that life is really meaningless, without significance and purpose, and that our existence on earth is merely accidental, and on the other, the great majority of people, who believe that despite all the obstacles, there indeed is purpose and meaning and that there is significance. This conflict will never be really settled, and it comes down to whether we believe that we are accidental victims of a meaningless universe, or that we are part of a greater plan by a supreme being, with autonomy and ability to finding meaning in our existence, and make a difference in our lives and our world.

         For myself, I prefer to look at my life as one, handed to me by an Almighty God to use as I see fit, in fulfillment of my life expectations and in sharing with others. This to me is the true purpose of life. The sincere hope is to be able to spend it in a way that provides meaning and satisfaction, while at the same time offering understanding and support to those around.  As Pericles, one of ancient Greece’s greatest philosophers and statesmen who lived in the 4th century BC, so very wisely observed:

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

-The true purpose in every person’s life is never measured in the conquests achieved, or the mountains overcome, but rather in the fabric successfully woven into the lives of others.

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