Hi Mary,

What a truly comprehensive look at ways we can answer the most basic question we all have: “what’s the meaning of my life?”

I completely agree that passion is one of the definers of our purpose.

Without it, we drift aimlessly through life, trying this and trying that without ever really achieving much at all.

With passion as the fire in our belly, we have aims and direction.

I believe my purpose in life is to help others live a more colorful life. To me, this means trying to live an extraordinary life as an ordinary human being.

Perhaps, through my writing or through the example of how I try to live my own life, maybe one person will gain that passion for themselves.

Are questions #1 and #2 supposed to be identical?

Mary -

What a fabulous article. I think Scott is truly living and breathing his purpose in life. Scott is a kinder and caring non-blogger who is always there to help others. So, he is really shining by example when he wrote that his purpose is - “to help others live a more colorful life”.

Shilpan

I feel I have to disagree with you about the nature of Passion.
Passion is something that takes us over and leads or motivates us to do things we might not otherwsie rationally do.
This is fine, up to a point, when we talk about romance and love but in other areas, our passion can lead us to do things that are not in our best interest.
Passion is the opposite of action, (passive vs active etc). Rather than use passion, I feel it is best to use conscious action and motivation to achieve goals.

I feel I have to disagree with you about the nature of Passion.
Passion is something that takes us over and leads or motivates us to do things we might not otherwsie rationally do.
This is fine, up to a point, when we talk about romance and love but in other areas, our passion can lead us to do things that are not in our best interest.
Passion is the opposite of action, (passive vs active etc). Rather than use passion, I feel it is best to use conscious action and motivation to achieve goals.

Douglas Woodss last blog post..Be Happy Today

Hi Mary, Nice to see you back-up and running. You wrote a very nice post here.

Okay, so are you ready for a very alternate view? I’m kind of out of the life purpose business. I’m seeing more and more that there may not be a purpose to life, or to my life, or to anyone’s life.

To most people, that may sound horribly depressing. But for me, it has been liberating. It makes right now more fresh, more alive, than ever before. I still find myself working, but far more working NOW as opposed to “for the future.” Strangely, I may actually be accomplishing more now.

I have no idea if this approach is the “right” one or not. But it seems to be working. Actually, it really isn’t an approach. It has just kind of happened the more I’ve let go of all kinds of emotional attachments.

Any way, just wanted to share an alternate perspective. Have a great day! Namaste…..

Tom Stine | Living from Consciousnesss last blog post..What Do Enlightened Guys Look Like?

I like that this leaves room for multiple purposes and passions. I think the idea that we can only have one true passion may hold us back from throwing ourselves into a range of things we love. There’s room to grow here, and that’s good.

Sara at On Simplicitys last blog post..Dreaming Big in a Small Town

Hi Mary - I really enjoyed this post!

I really like that you put down three passions rather than one. I’m not sure why, but when I was younger, I always though I needed to find THE passion (singular). Eventually, I realized I had several needs in my life that needed to be addressed in order to be happy.

My passions:

* To learn and grow
* To help others learn and grow
* Ensure my family is happy.
* To help make this world better (at least just a little bit) than it was when I entered this world.

@ Douglas: hmm, I don’t quite agree. I think most people’s semantic use of passion is related to emotions, rather than being the opposite of action. I do see your point that conscious action and motivation should be used for goals, but I also believe that passion needs to be in the equation as well.

Al at 7Ps last blog post..Which Superhero Blockbuster Movie Are You?

I guess I am just lazy. I’m of an age when I have no interest in being burned up in passion, or disappointed by false hope, or endlessly pursuing the illusion of bliss. Personally all I want is to find some peace in my life, to find contentment with what little I have, and savor what is left of the world before we destroy it with our carelessness. When my tiny life ends, all that I thought was important will be as meaningless as footprints in the sand. Watch the bees. When we are gone, it won’t make any difference. When they are gone, the world ends. Who is more important?

I can’t speak for the other members of my family. What I’ve learned over time is that the only person I can know is myself (and that imperfectly), the only person whose happiness or sadness I can be responsible for is myself, the only path I can travel is my own. I let go of the idea I could convince anyone of anything a long time ago. In the past two years, I’ve been focused on letting go of the idea that I could change anything about the way the world is, and the result has been that I have become increasingly calm. There are still things that make me angry (the neighborhood thugs throwing eggs at my door), and things that make me unreasonably happy (holding a puppy or a kitten), but, overall, it is a lack of passion that I am striving for, and the increased state of calm in the midst of the chaos that is my life. It is not much, but I feel better for not trying to swing from the chandeliers any more. I don’t recommend it for anyone else, but, then, I’m not anyone else.

I enjoyed reading and feeling how your thoughts can be applied in my life, and I also enjoyed reading Tom Stine’s thoughts and your response to that.

My perspective? We are each born with certain potential. We all have a brilliance that we can move with. The question of finding purpose is about discovering those potentials and natural gifts, then finding ways to live them.

The word purpose suggests that someone, or some process, is proposing something; that it has some goal or defined outcome. Is that necessary?

I feel better referring to this as aligning my life and activities with my innate strengths and natural drives, then let the outcomes sort themselves out. To me the process is exploratory rather than goal driven.

But if I do have a “purpose,” it is to explore, and perceive, and absorb, and to teach. That is what I was built for. All of that can be in the “now” as Tom implies, and it can also be goal-oriented.

Much of discussion is the result of problems introduced by semantics. Isn’t it something how we try to use words with fixed definitions to convey such fluid concepts. Language is so inadequate.

If only we could all communicate telepathically — clearly and completely.

John Rocheleaus last blog post..Freeze-Framed Relationships

I wonder if sometimes we struggle so hard to find purpose for our lives that we miss the point that life in itself is the purpose. Flowers, dogs, whales, butterflies, pine trees don’t angst about having a purpose. Their purpose is to be what they are. Speaking for myself and myself alone, the things I’ve tried that have been wrong for me prove themselves to be wrong by being a struggle to accomplish, that seem harder than they have to be. Those things that flow, those things that are discounted for being too easy, those are what I am naturally good at, and perhaps what I should be doing and should have been doing all along. I left a well paying job with a fancy title and huge amounts of stress…I was developing diabetes and high blood pressure. Was the money worth it? I decided not. I am now working part time as a receptionist…the ambitious ones among you would say I wasn’t meeting my potential, but in my heart I know I am. I am working with college students who I dearly love, on a beautiful campus, and I look forward to (instead of dreading) every work day. There is no struggle because this is my life. I have had highs and lows in my time, those wonderful emotional swings of emotion…for me, this is better. I like being a rock in a calm pool. It’s not for everyone, but I would rather not search for purpose any more. I am the purpose. That may sound egotistical. But I don’t have any other choice. Living my life as best I can is the purpose.

I have found it interesting to read some of the responses to your blog Mary, as I too am a person who doesn’t feel comfortable with having a purpose in life, it doesn’t feel necessary. Perhaps that is just a lack of clarity on what my purpose might be, but I think probably its more about my style, the way I operate in the world and too, a result of health limitations that don’t allow for the periods of concentrated, high energy that comes with passion nor the committment needed.

My perception of ‘passion’ is that it is all consuming and everything outside of the passion is no longer of significance. This isn’t a biggie if the passion isn’t too long-lived but if it is it can become very self indulgent ignoring the needs of those around us.

I guess passion has an addictive sort of quality to it for me, whereas to love doing something or to be fully with it, feels like it leaves room for the rest of the world. Perhaps this is more about a different perception of what passion means.

When I become too goal orientated, my life looses its balance. I loose touch with me and with nature and listening to myself. I don’t notice when that goal needs modifying or becomes inapropriate.

I think my mode of operating is more fluid and the goals are little everyday ones or more generalised, more of a feeling perhaps.

My life seems to work best when I just take small bites and I follow that, listening to myself and how the process feels as it evolves. I feel more at ease with simplicity and keeping myself open. Passion feels too directed, too much of a snowball.

My current life goal is to be happy - in the large sense - ie to live my life in a way that supports who I am and that listens to what I need. This happiness is not about always being happy minute by minute, but about accepting what is and being with that, honouring how I feel, not pushing it away - being aware.

My life is my life - I do the best I can, living it as well as I can. I have no illusions about leaving this world a better place, I am but a grain of sand, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be the best me I can be - perhaps that is my purpose!

I’ve made some rather large changes in my life recently (positive changes). I’ve been reflecting on my personality as a result… Great thing is, you’ve given me here a great starting point for focus and reflection on some of the things I’d like clarity and answers on. So off I go with hope and an optimistic outlook to guide me.

Ricardo Buenos last blog post..Be Consistently Interesting

just found your site - love it!

jenny

Great article. When I was not sure of the ultimate purpose of my life, I could not exert my passion on anything. I felt powerless, hopeless and deprssed. A purposeless life is a terrible journey. Thank you for sharing all the useful points.

Jades last blog post..Things I learned from "Kung Fu Panda"

Hi Mary, I really enjoyed this post. I’m also not sure if I agree with Steve Pavlina on his definitions of passion and purpose. What you wrote on “True passion is a wellspring of energy that drives our life, and aligns it with our ultimate purpose” makes more sense to me.

Thanks for sharing,
Evelyn

Evelyn Lims last blog post..Face Up To Your 6 Basic Fears

Hi Mary! I just found your blog and this post really jumped out at me because it is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. I really agree with many of the previous comments - it’s great to see someone talk about having having multiple purposes, though I can also relate to Di and Dianne that for some, appreciating life itself is purpose enough. But what really struck me about your post (and why your feed is now in my reader!) was that your life purpose resonates closely with what I have been coming to see as my own. For various reasons, I’ve done a lot of work on my own personal growth over the last several years and I see that as a never-ending process. But recently, I’ve also started having a ‘what now?’ feeling. That is, I’ve been so focused on getting my own stuff together, and now that I’m feeling like I’m much closer to where I want to be personally, I’m at a bit of a loss of where to go from here. Many of the questions you pose here have already been swirling around in my head (and now I’ve got even more to think about!). What I keep coming back to is that the best next step for me is to do what I can to help others reach their potential (which in turn, can help me reach mine!). One thing I find particularly interesting about that is that I am already a teacher and although I entered that profession many years ago and for what I thought were entirely different reasons, I now can see that one reason why I have always loved my job is that it helps me fulfill my life purpose.

Hey there Mary - I just came to this post through Twitter, and am eager to puzzle over these questions in my free time. I’ve answered a similar set of questions in the past, but I find that goals and purposes and means of fulfillment can easily change over a lifetime, so it’s nice to take a fresh look at such questions.

stephanerds last blog post..Coffee Break: Why Are We Afraid To Put Ourselves Out There?

I always read your blog in high spirits. Thanks

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