The Last Breathe
The search for purpose in this world can be blessed with great triumphs as if we are breaking through insurmountable barriers. Yet, it can also be fraught with bewildering pitfalls.
For many reasons, our purpose, our reason for being blessed with this life, can unconsciously lead to a feeling of guilt and a deep-seated moral sense of debt, as if you owe someone something for the life you have seemingly been gifted.
A feeling that can often have a significant impact when we arrive at the inevitable stage of our lives, where our vivid search for our so-called real purpose begins.
It's like we are bound by an invisible moral code that states when we receive something of value we are indebted; we somehow owe someone something to even the unseen moral ledger.
I love that good deeds can lead to positive outcomes and giving can be a no-strings-attached gift. I love the fact that life's most challenging moments can lead to change for a better future. But I worry that this concept has an unintended influence on our search for our true purpose. I fear that we search for meaning through the clouded view of equalling the moral ledger.
My concern is that I feel the quest to pay back, pay forward, whatever you like to call it, maybe adding a single-minded blinkered view to what is already an arduous search.
I worry that with this view, we start believing that our purpose has to be equal to the moment that began this quest for true meaning. I fear that it always means that our imagined mission becomes so large, it becomes impossible to achieve. But most of all, I worry that this influence means we discount the thought that our true purpose may be a lot smaller than we ever imagined.
When was the last time you heard people admit that their purpose in life was relatively small? Something like "my purpose in life is to be happy," "my purpose in life is to listen," "my purpose in life is to laugh." I know that these don't sound as amazing and empowering as "my purpose in life is to save the world's starving” or "my purpose in life is to reverse global warming."
Yes, these sound great but are these lofty life purposes just a preconceived way of setting you up to fail, to underachieve? Only to start the search for purpose every six months, with a new and more significant expectation.
Sit with the concept of a smaller life purpose. "my purpose in life is to be happy." I believe that this purpose is achievable for most and what I love about it is the ripple effect it will inevitably have.
If you are happy, you will, without trying, spread joy, love, and good energy everywhere you go. If you are happy and live your life by taking actions that align with your true purpose, your happiness will become others. In essence, your so-called small purpose might have a massive impact on others and what they experience.
Your true purpose in life can be as large or as small as you desire, but it does have to be your truth. There is no right or wrong when it comes to purpose; its size doesn't make you more worthy as life's purpose is not a competition. It is a deeply personal quest to live a perfectly aligned life with who you are, your morals, your beliefs and what you want to achieve.
Consider your purpose with the knowledge that ‘more significant’ does not mean ‘better’. A smaller mission can sometimes produce the most exceptional outcomes and that whatever you decide can always be adjusted. Your true purpose will be continually changing and adapting to align with your development as a simple human.