The Purpose of Life

On our Facebook page we proudly proclaim support for Robert Byrne’s classic uttering: “The purpose of life is a life of purpose”.

It’s such a lovely phrase, simple, yet rich in meaning. After all what can be more meaningful that living a life of purpose?

But, if you have no idea what your purpose in life is (and, believe it or not, that is true for most) then you may find the statement to be somewhat confusing and frustrating.

It may therefore help to look at the purpose of life in a different way.

[box type=\”shadow\”]“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson[/box]

 

The purpose of life (continued)

 

Leaving the world a better place

At a meeting of our top coaches recently, the discussion came round to purpose and what it meant to us. One of our group said, quite simply: “I aim to leave the world a better place than when I entered it.”

That comment has stuck with me ever since.

Yes, it’s easy to criticise this as presumptuous. The actions of one mere mortal are hardly going to swing the balance in favour of a better world if the majority of people choose to live selfishly, to the detriment of our common future.

A net positive contribution

But knowing the coach as I do, I knew full well that he was referring to the effect of his own personal contribution. In other words, his purpose is to leave the world knowing that he has made a net positive contribution overall.

On the face of it, that may not sound terribly profound. And yet, can you just imagine the dramatic impact that seven billion human beings would have on the world we live in if each and every one of us was to make a net positive contribution during our lives?

At New Insights we expound the view that the purpose of life is to contribute to the evolution of society, the planet and the universe in general. In other words, to be a constructive rather than destructive force. So the idea of everyone striving to make a net positive contribution strikes a chord.

A note of caution

Before we get too excited about adopting ‘net positive contribution’ as a mantra, let me sound a note of caution in the form of two questions:

Is it acceptable to live life in a generally destructive way only to try and counterbalance that at some point with some substantially constructive deeds?

How will we know for sure whether we have made a net positive contribution overall? After all, our individual judgement is purely subjective.

Micro managing our actions and behaviours

I believe the answer to this lies in ‘micro managing’ our own behaviours and interactions, if you like.

Therefore, instead of aiming to make, on average, an overall net positive contribution throughout our lives we should judge all of our actions and behaviours based on whether they result in a net positive or negative contribution to the world.

Four classes of behaviour

In essence, the actions and behaviours we indulge in fall in to just four classes:

1. Those that feel good, are good for us, are good for others and for the world in general.

2. Those that may not feel so good but that are good for us, are good for others and good for the world at large.

3. Those that feel good but are not good for us, are not good for others and not good for the world as a whole.

4. Those that do not feel good, are not good for us, are not good for others and not good for the world in general.

The first two classes of behaviour are constructive in their effect, whereas the last two are destructive.

Most regular people will automatically tend to embrace class 1 behaviours and shun class 4. The problem comes when confronted with the option of either a class 2 or class 3 behaviour.

Choosing constructive behaviours

Those whose self-awareness is not that finely tuned may easily be tempted into the short-term pleasures that derive from class 3 actions and behaviours as opposed to the longer-term benefits to be had from class 2.

A simple example might be opting fake ill health and enjoy a duvet day rather than present yourself at work for a long intense day of training. An even more simple example might be to join in with a group who are gossiping about a friend or colleague rather than speak out against the group.

By keeping the four generic classes of behaviour in mind and making a conscious effort to engage in constructive actions and behaviours and refrain from their destructive counterparts, you will be assured of a life of personal growth and positive contribution to the world.

Now surely, that is a purpose of life that we can all buy into?

 

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