Samani Shukla Pragya
Samani Vinay Pragya
A Common Myth about Purpose
What people normally accept as the purpose of life is to achieve success. If you are asked, “Why do you want success?” Your answer might be, “Because it makes me happy.” If you look deeper at this response, you are really saying that you seek the happiness that you believe success will bring to you as opposed to wanting success for its own sake. Happiness should never be synonymous of success. For success can be the achievement of a goal with good or evil intentions. All successes cannot be claimed to be the purpose of life or in favour of mankind. Terrorists achieved success in the 9/11 attack in the USA and on 26/11 in Mumbai. Can this success be accepted as the purpose of life?
Purpose or success as it is misunderstood is different for each individual. For a student the purpose can be attaining good grades in school; for a businessman the purpose is to build a successful business; for a housewife it can be to run a happy, efficient home; for a chef the purpose can be to turn out delicious food. For an athlete, the purpose could be to reach the highest attainable goal in her sport.
For a thief purpose would be to steal without getting caught; for a terrorist the purpose can be to bring chaos or to exact revenge through violent acts. There can be an unlimited number of categories of the so-called purpose depending on the interests of the individual. These can be set as short term goals in their fields, either to survive or to fulfil their desires. These goals however, cannot be the ultimate purpose of one’s life. These intermittent goals cannot be the overarching reason for your existence. You need to discover — within yourself — the true purpose of your own life, the reason for your existence.
There are no shortcuts to discovering the true purpose and meaning of your life. In so far as life is the flow of actions, purposeful living can only be achieved through purposeful action.
Why to Discover Your Purpose?
"The biggest threat to our well—being is the absence of moral clarity and purpose." -Rich Sherman
A purposeful life will deliver immense satisfaction. A purposeful life explores your strengths, triggers your passion, and fuels your happiness. Discovering your purpose is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future.
Regardless of who you are, your financial situation, or your stage in life, each and every one of us has a specific life purpose. Once discovered we wake up with that purpose and sleep with the contentment of knowing we are living with purpose. Purpose is the light-house which guides our way of life in terms of attitude, thought-pattern, behaviour and communication.
Finding your purpose helps you choose how you want to direct your life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. And you can also quickly detect the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray.
Remember here that purpose does not mean to accomplish your everyday To- Do list, but to focus on your being. That’s why we are known as "human beings" not "human doings". Explore your “being” - then the “doing” will become powerful and productive.
Stop and See Your Life's Purpose
Your life may be hectic. But, wait!!! Stop and take your time to look at the purpose of your life. Are you living with true purpose? Are you on right track to finding the purpose of your life? Make sure the following things are not your life's purpose:
- Material possessions and pleasures
If money could bring true happiness and long-lasting satisfaction the wealthiest people in the world would be the happiest ones. But they are not‘ It is narrow-minded to th1nl Life purpose is not centered on your temporary goals, needs and desires. This might sound outrageous to some people, but true life purpose is based on serving others in some way, not on getting everything you ever dreamed of. In fact, it actually works the other way around- first you add value to the world and then you will receive everything you need without even having to ask for it. Our life purpose does not lie with other people. When you strive to help people that you love — it is great. But when you make another person the center of your life, then your happiness becomes conditional and dependent. Then the control of your life goes into others hands. No person in this Universe, no matter how great, can become YOUR life purpose. Make sure, you are not so preoccupied in making others happy that you are forgetting yourself. Life purpose is not based on your status. In a perfect world your work and your life purpose should be aligned, but your profession is not an all-encompassing representation of who you are. Your real and true self is free from all kinds of titles. So do not tie your identity with your status. Making your job your life purpose is similar to declaring that you are what you do 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can be a lawyer, a professor, a taxi driver or a general manager, but it only reflects a tiny part of your interests, desires, and personality. It does not define who you truly are. Negative attitudes like revenge, enmity, violence, jealousy take you away from your life's purpose. In any given situation, these attitudes should not become the motto of your life. Emotional imbalance can lead to downfall and suffering. ”Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.” — Lance Watson “There was once a Prince, who loved hunting. One morning, as usual, he went deep into the forest in search of prey. Suddenly he heard a rustle behind him. Quickly he turned around and saw a beautiful stag. But before he could draw his bow, the stags poke to him, saying, “What on earth are you doing?” "I’m hunting,” replied the astonished Prince. “That's not what I meant." said the stag. ”Heaven has given you the gift of life. Now that you have received it, what are you doing for Heaven?” The prince had no answer because his actions were not aligned with his purpose. While performing any action we can ask to ourselves — "Is this what I am here for? Is this making my life meaningful? What am I doing for my Soul, Universe, this world and humanity? Am I improving the quality and purity of my true self or am I compromising my true self?" Your purpose is defined by what do to make a difference, to inspire, to guide, to motivate, to contribute, to comfort, to empower, to serve, to improve, to learn, to forgive. Take a few minutes, hours, or if needed days and find out how you can contribute to this world. There is an enormous difference between just spending your time and talents, and using them in the best possible way. To be born into this world is not a choice. But we do choose how to live. Life is a gift that must be treasured. There are numerous decisions we are faced with in life. When we have a sense of purpose and direction, then we and fulfilled. A successful life may not be purposeful, but a purposeful life wills definitely lead to success. In 1953, researchers studying goal-setting surveyed the graduating seniors from Yale University aspirations for the future. They found that only 3% of the graduating class had specific, written goals and objectives. 20 years on, the researchers contacted the same graduates and came up with some very interesting results. They discovered that the same 3% who engaged in goal-setting activity and had clearly written goals when they graduated in 1953 were more successful, and worth more in terms of wealth than the other 97% combined. The same 3% also tended to have better health and relationships than the other 97%.
There has Been So Much Given to You
Purposeful Life Leads to Success