Three Things About Living with Purpose

Art by Erin Cairney White

Purpose is one of those intangible things that many of us are working to get a grip on. Except, we don’t know what to take hold of. What is purpose? And what does it matter?

There is some research to suggest that when we have a purpose in life – an idea of what we are meant to contribute or do, or a focus on something we want to create – that we are more satisfied and have greater well-being. In short, we feel better.

But there are plenty of ways to live meaningful lives without any clarity on purpose. In my new book How to Live an Awesome Life, I write about passion  and purpose, how to discover those qualities for you, if you want. But, I’m also clear that if you don’t know what the heck you are meant to do in this world, that’s ok too. In fact, you are probably living your purpose without even knowing it.

3 Things About Purpose

1.It is not a job, label, role you play. It’s an expression of who you are. It’s expressed in how you relate to others, what you choose to do, how you handle adversity, what matters to you.

2. The way your purpose shows up may change frequently throughout your life. Your purpose may be to encourage and teach others. That may be expressed through parenting, working as a school teacher, volunteering at a non-profit, or visiting with friends over coffee. There is no limit to how our purpose is expressed.

3. Even if you *know* your purpose, it’s bigger than you think. You may believe your purpose is to write books, or support your family, or even run a conscious business, but it is so much bigger than that. Those are good things. Simply leading with kindness and compassion is a good thing, you don’t have to accomplish anything at all to live your purpose — you do it by being all that you are.

But when we go looking for purpose, we look often start at the outcomes — the finished book — when purpose actually threads through the entire process. It isn’t and end point. Purpose is  how we do the work, live the life, breathe into the next moment., or the thing we are doing now. It is so much bigger than the book, or the job, or even parenting the child. It is how we show up in the moments that are our life.  And, this is why you don’t need to worry if you don’t know what your purpose is — because you are already expressing it. Right now.

And that is enough.