Why I Hate the Phrase “Life Purpose”
I hate the phrase “life purpose.”
On one hand, I’m drawn to it. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had one? Something lofty like “save the world” or “cure cancer”?
Yet somehow, I find it unbelievable that as a baby is born and we gaze into her eyes someone will declare, “Yes, this is the one. Her job is to save us all.”
What pressure!
It also sets us up for a big flop. I mean, come on, what if we get slightly off track and study bellydancing instead of our “purpose” of being a lawyer, or have a bit too much fun partying on the beach one summer and end up staying for a decade?
Are we going to look up from our deathbed and say, “Damn, well, I blew that one.”
I think our life purpose is a lot more about being who we are. Owning it. Not trying to fit in, be like anyone else or look like the Instagram shots that get lots of likes, or the careers that get lots of dollars.
I think our life purpose is about discovering our unique way of being and doing that goes far beyond “I want to be a photographer” or “feed the hungry” but instead is about how we alone could do those things when and if we do.
There could be a million people out there who also want to be photographers or hungry-feeders, so I don’t think those qualify as our purpose. Missions or goals, perhaps, but we are each so much more than that.
I believe your life purpose is unique to you and you alone. It’s about being your unique version of energy that has miraculously come along in the form of you and never will again.
Because when we have, even for a moment, entered the zone of creative presence, I believe we send out a little spark of magic, of happy, peaceful positivity and well-being that the world desperately needs. And those around us always benefit.
First of all, we’re all just nicer when we’re in that place.
And second, it’s as if we send out a little ripple, a flicker of light that gives others permission to be exactly who they are too. And that, my friend, is powerful.
The question is how do we do that for ourselves, and as parents, teachers, helpers and general participants in life, how do we support others in doing that?
What is the formula for questing toward that kind of life purpose?
I believe it starts with flow–that miraculous state we experience when we are totally immersed in doing something we love. In flow, we aren’t worried about what others think. We are simply, beautifully being who we are, so intimately connected with our unique talents, gifts, essence and energy that we can’t help but let them shine and sparkle.
Creating the time, space and permission to enter a state of flow and be who we really are is probably one of the single most important things we can ever do, or teach our children to do.
And accepting that there is no finish line or possibility of doing it perfectly.
It’s not about what we do, it’s about how we do it. The more little miraculous moments we can create, and the more we let ourselves be that person that no one else can be, the better our lives and the world will be.
At the minimum, at the end of our lives, we will have a series of snapshots, freeze-frame beautiful flow moments to look back on. And with any luck, our final moment will be another one.
And we will be able to say, “What a beautiful ride this is.”
That, I believe, is the purpose of life.
Here are more articles about finding our gift and what does our passion have to do with our gift?
Copyright © 2020, Laurie Smith, All rights reserved. Photo credit: Pixelbliss/Shutterstock
