Lately, I’ve been noticing a recurring message from the psychology and therapy world recently about the benefit of having meaning and purpose in your life. At the same time, I have been experiencing more clients wanting to discuss how they feel lost or that they are unsure of their purpose in life. They tell me that many things that they are seeing in their world is resulting in a crisis for them around their purpose. Why are they here on Earth? What are they meant to be doing? How can they make a difference in their lifetime?
You can’t just manufacture purpose in life. You can, however, work at increasing more of it. We know there are many benefits, from increasing longevity, to improvements in wellbeing physically and emotionally. We know that having a purpose from adolescence through volunteering, religious attendance and maternal attachment can increase wellbeing and we know, conversely, that depression and drug use in a teenager will reduce their capacity to believe their life has purpose.
So how can you increase purpose in your life? The following are a few thoughts to help you get started.
· Work out who you love spending your time with and maintain connection to them and support them through their challenges and be honest about yours.
· Stay attached to the world through some manner where you give something of yourself: your time, your money, your effort, your thoughts or your interest. You could volunteer for a charity, regularly donate money to a cause you believe in, notice challenges in your suburb and look for some solutions. Just observe where there are simple needs you could connect to.
· Identify what matters to you and then work out how you can connect to that concern, passion or interest. It may be an area you could be employed in. You may need to plan to head towards that interest as you may need a qualification or a skill.
· Observe what things make you happy or make you different. Notice the clues that highlight how different you are. What makes you get up in the morning? What makes you tick? Can you do something attached to this? If not, then, how can you?
· So, think, plan, and set goals. Be proactive. And if you need to talk to someone about organising the steps, then do it!
