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 than 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.
“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
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:
- Those that feel good, are good for us, are good for others and for the world in general.
- Those that may not feel so good but that are good for us, are good for others and good for the world at large.
- Those that feel good but are not good for us, are not good for others and not good for the world as a whole.
- 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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Wonderful article. It always pains me that all we do is take from mother earth and we hardly give back to make her a better place. Making earth a better place is all about living a purposeful life.
That’s such an eye-opener, actually it’s a moral compass.
thank you, Bill
Thanks Denim!
I have just started Part 4 of the NI Skills Training Course and this talks straight to what I am reading – putting it as constructive actions and behaviors says it all. Thanks Bill!
I’m glad it hit the spot!
Thank you. Very inspirational.
You’re very welcome Yvona!
Thank you for a deeply insightful interpretation of the very essence of a life worth living. We have the freedom to choose the quality of our lives – one driven on autopilot or one in which conscious decisions are made and deliberate actions are taken, all because one is sharply aware of the footprint that one wishes to leave behind on this earth.
Thank you Karen.
Yes, indeed – I love the notion of “the footprint you leave behind…”. A powerful notion!
This was a really great read. Leaving the world a better place is what I am living for. I have devoted my life to doing this by making the lives of those I come into contact with better than when I met them, one person at a time. I believe if we have better people in the world, it will surely be a better place. This is the reason why I have decided to take up identity coaching as a career.
An interesting discussion! It immediately reminded me of what the Dalai Lama talks about constantly — how the world can be changed one act of compassion and kindness at a time. No contribution is too small and many contributions together can bring about something extraordinary 🙂
Lovely article Bill. Will be sharing with our project team at our weekly meeting tomorrow 🙂
Insightful analogy. And our inner voice always tells us if we are doing sonething wrong. We just ignore it because it feels good for us. Neglecting our environment does not make our actions right and we certainly cannot wait for everybody to be right for us to be right. It starts with each and everyone of us. Thank you for reminding us.
You write so well Bill and it is always a pleasure to read your posts! This is another one of those topics that has become increasingly important as I have gained coaching experience. For the first few years, I didn’t get how fundamental this concept was. The ability to delay gratification and keep a long term perspective in mind is really the heart of goal setting, isn’t it?
Thanks Tania. Please feel free to subscribe your clients. The bigger the readership the more people can be exposed to the benefits of life coaching concepts 🙂