What’s the connection between purpose & happiness?
What’s the connection of purpose with a long, healthy life?
Where does passion fall in this mix?
Have you ever wondered that?
A purpose is a combination of your core values and goals and each one of us strives to live by them.
The strength of one’s life’s purpose can lead to making a positive contribution to our communities and the world at large. It allows us the psychological wellness and physical health we need to live a long, happy and fulfilling life.
Your purpose aligns with your life goals and when you are able to live them out, you are inadvertently driven to lowering your stress resulting in a happier, longer life.
All that we do, whether physical exercise, or meditation or practicing mindfulness or heartfulness, are not for some external or internal benefit at that specific level, but have a far greater effect when they actually capitalize on a sense of purpose. This just tends to drive the benefits to greater heights.
Any act of physical or mental health development and enhancement has an effect on stress management and also, on the sense of individual purpose, which in turn leads to a better quality of life. As a result, there is all round development for the individual leading to greater control of meeting one’s life’s purpose.
The sense of purpose extends beyond an individual. There are benefits to a sense of purpose at a community level or an economic level as well. When the community sense of purpose is upheld, the individual constituents tend to come together and reach out harder to achieve this. At a business level too, it enhances the sense of belongingness among the employees and when their individual purpose aligns with the business purpose, there is more all round happiness and satisfaction among employees, leading to growth for the organization at the business and economic levels. At the same time, individuals flourish as well. This underscores the need to pursue purpose more than mere profits. Profits are an aftereffect of chasing a purpose.
A purpose is abstract in nature so long as it’s not backed by action. And to act in upholding a purpose requires one to have the willingness to put in the work and not waver when faced with the first challenge. All of this comes from discipline, adhering to a healthy lifestyle and in practicing what we preach.
While purpose can be individualistic in nature, the premise of its vastness lies in seeking to benefit more than self. The idea of a high enough purpose is focused on greater good, for our communities and the world. And, when we do aim at that, we tend to benefit at an individual level too, quite naturally.
And, think about it — When you meet your purpose or are in alignment with it, you do experience positive emotions. You feel useful, engaged and as a result, strive to improve and do better.
While passion feeds your earnestness in getting to work on something you aspire to achieve, purpose is to effect something far greater than your self and fuels you to keep going on and on, in pursuit of making a difference.
With your purpose or your life’s mission, you continue to pursue it throughout your life.
Now, is a good time to ask the question — What is your purpose? What were you and you alone, put on this earth to do?
What gives your life new meaning? And how do you engage in it?
Your purpose in life blossoms when you understand that it’s about giving more than getting. What you get, as I said is a side effect.
We all aim for success but that’s counter-intuitive. If you aim at success, you will miss each time. Try aiming at making others successful and you will become successful, as a result. When you work on something far greater than yourself for the sheer joy and fulfillment of it, what you truly deserve finds you.
You want love, try giving, You want to make money, try helping others make it. It will all come back to you manifold as you enjoy the process of helping others find what they seek.
And, you will also find that you enjoy the journey and feel immensely satisfied and happy during the process.
Two things to always keep top of mind to do this — You live only once and you will not live forever. So long as these thoughts form an undercurrent in all that you do, you will follow your purpose and find happiness enacting it, executing it!
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