From purpose to point
If you’ve ever asked yourself “what’s the point?”, it’s likely that you need a greater sense of purpose.
Finding purpose is incredibly important for our mental health and wellbeing; without it, we feel lost at sea and often struggle with motivation. Purpose gives meaning to our lives, and something to direct our energies towards.
In fact, a strong sense of purpose can:
Improve mental health
Lower stress levels
Increase the likelihood of taking part in healthy activities
Improve brain function, cognition and memory
Boost wellbeing
Help us to view adversity as opportunity
Increase satisfaction with our lives
Reduce the chances of premature death
Improve coping skills
Purpose lends us direction and helps us to make decisions; guiding our behaviours and making it possible to reach our goals. To paraphrase Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl, we can bear almost any ‘how’, when we have a ‘why’. Without a ‘why’, life can be difficult.
Ultimately, people need to feel that their life makes sense, they’re significant in their world, and they’re here for a reason.
Discovering your purpose
For some people, purpose is found in family or work. You might find meaning within your own life through personal passions, or in a greater purpose – like religion, spirituality, or charity work. What most of these things have in common is a sense of belonging and recognition.
In their search for meaning, a lot of people experience what’s known as ‘purpose anxiety’. But it’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself. Finding purpose in your life should be something that’s enjoyable; after all, it’s largely about uncovering what fuels you, and pushes you to jump out of bed each morning.
Besides, purpose is something that you can create, rather than something you need to go out and find. And it’ll change throughout your lifetime.
If you’re struggling to find your purpose, think about what matters most to you; that might be achieving a certain level in your career, being a great parent, or bringing happiness and positivity into the world. And it doesn’t matter what other people set as their purpose: comparison doesn’t work here.
Purpose is all about looking into the core of who you are, and living in a way to support that.