Having a purpose in life is important
The very purpose of life is to live the same. By ‘living’, we mean experiencing the positives and negatives life throws upon us from time to time and embracing its adventures. Irrespective of whether we decide to live our life to the fullest or not, the wheel of time keeps rotating, making us live a day to day life. We get up every morning, brush our teeth (most people do that, hopefully), take bath(this we are not sure that most people do), rush to perform the day to day chores in a meticulous manner and return back after sunset to rest. Life goes on in a mundane manner and we keep ageing. Owing to what is called the evolution of our species, there may be subtle differences between humans and animals in the way life is being lived. When the sun rises in the East plants take the energy to grow from the heat source. This means, we live, so does plants and animals too. Apart from the evolution which is a Godly construct, is there anything that differentiates humans from animals and plants? Is our life in any way different from theirs? Does leaving behind the calculations of how long we lived on this planet, will give or add any value to anyone or yourself? Our imagination is the answer to all the above questions. Our ability to imagine and make our dreams a reality is the prime difference between us and any other species on earth. This simply means whatever you can imagine, you can achieve. If we send you through a hypothetical time machine to pre-historic times, and suppose all cavemen could speak our language, would you be able to explain to them that in next 1000 years or so, we are going to change the entire planet, swim with fishes in the sea and fly like birds in the sky, go beyond planets into outer space. Would they believe you or would they set you on fire for talking like crazy? We have come a long way, all because of this small magical thing called “IMAGINATION”. This is the fuel for our purpose. When self-help gurus say “Find your purpose”, it means you have to imagine something which you truly believe in, what you truly stand for, and then find a way to make it a reality by your actions.
Why finding your purpose in life is important?
Having a purpose to strive for is the beginning of living a meaningful life. A purpose that adds value to society, environment and most importantly to yourself, differentiates humans from animals and plants. Even people who strive towards achieving their goals are not doing justice with themselves if they are not pursuing their purpose in life. At the end of the day, life, after all, is not about how much money one earned or how much fame they attained through words and actions, it’s the result. If your purpose is clear and noble, you won’t ever have to worry about the result, money will pour in from all corners of the world, media & press will not leave you for a second, glory will be yours in all front of life be it professional or personal, whatever you touch will become gold. How will this happen? Let us look at what exactly a purpose is since lack of understanding of the same will dilute the efforts to create one.
Your purpose is a dream that stirs your soul, shaking your very existence in a deep emotional level. Your purpose is the inner-self that substantiates the extent of positive vibration you have created and thus attracted, all through your life in this earth. Your purpose is the impetus that pulls you out of the sphere where you just physically exist. Remember the phrase, “pulls you out”, suppose you want to loose your weight, you push yourself to loose your weight because it might be that you don’t have a compelling reason to loose weight. What happens? It burns you out. If you don’t have a compelling or meaningful reason as a purpose which pulls you even in the line of fire, you won’t experience any change in your life. A strong meaningful purpose saves us from mental decay which automatically and constantly happens when we live a vegetative life. When we understand the key role played by purpose in our life, we will be able to appreciate the contribution and value addition it makes to our existence.
A person who has already defined his purpose for life is easily guided to design his long term and short term goals. When his long term and short term goals are clear, he is able to work out a practical and feasible action plan which reflects in his day to day activities. This simplifies his life to a great extent making him tread the path of life in a meaningful manner. Off course, you need courage also, if you are trying to do something no one else has ever done before, but finding the initial direction and the end aim is important, rest all the qualities you can build up along the way as you experience your life.
To put it in a nut shell, finding a purpose decides whether you live a meaningful life or a vegetative one. Having a value adding purpose in life helps attain the following benefits uninvited.
- The strong bonding between oneself and the defined purpose gives so much of clarity and mental peace that it increases the life span.
- The peace of mind experienced protects the heart from attacks improving its health and it also leads to discontinuation of bad habits because you simply won’t have time for them.
- The life purpose keeps oneself focused in productive activities, a person who is productive is taking care of his health as without this body our mind will not function properly, this in turns prevents people from suffering due to Alzheimer’s and many more modern day or lifestyle diseases.
- People who possess a strong sense of purpose experience little pain since their high satisfaction levels gives them the ability to manage the same in an effective manner. They convert pain into lessons, and learn from it and grow from embracing all experiences.
What happens when you don’t find it?
A person who has no purpose in his life or is yet to set one for self, gets distracted by everything that comes his way. He loses his direction and the very basics of his life, getting immersed in mundane things which add least or no value to his life. He wanders in the wilderness of life aimlessly getting lost every now and then.
Some people start on a long journey to find out the real purpose of their life. Many fail to find one even after going on long journeys, returning back to their routine with increased frustration levels. Some, however, pursue their journey in search of their purpose and never give up till they find one.
Bhagwad Gita says “One who abandons all his selfish desires and becomes free from the feeling of “I” and “my” (Arrogance and undue attachment to things) attains Supreme Peace”. Look around you. You will find so many things that await helping hands. Offer your hands. Remember, it is not the physical gesture that is being discussed here. That is in fact, the lowest form of help you can ever offer to anybody. You can find the purpose of your life when you offer your hand for helping others.
How can you find it if you really want to but are not able to yet?
Yajur Veda says “The one who loves all intensely begins perceiving in all living beings a part of himself’. There are thousands of value adding purposes scattered all around us. Right from joining the army to serving mankind, to helping the financially downtrodden, anything can be your life’s purpose. When you start seeing things from other’s angle, you get a clear vision of their world. When you are able to feel the sufferings experienced by others, your soul guides you to the next logical step. It makes you travel in the mental plane helping you fix the purpose of your life easily.
What to do when you achieve it?
Finding the purpose of your life is the first step towards living a meaningful one. When your start living your life with a clear cut purpose in mind your life adds immense value to yourself as well as to others around you. Your purpose starts driving your life in a focused manner.
Living for a cause or purpose is a never ending process. Noble causes and purposes do not have an end since they are not seen with the physical eyes but witnessed through an open mind. If the purpose you had set for your life had a limited scope and you are done with it, set another value adding purpose that will continue to make your life meaningful and resourceful.
Written by Rama Ramji edited by SiteMaster
