I’ve always believed that everyone has a unique and grand purpose in life. Like a mystical force that comes to us from beyond, our purpose guides us through our choices in education, career, and personal endeavours. This belief painted a picture where discovering one’s purpose early in life sets the stage for a seamless journey towards fulfilment and success. Once you have your purpose, it doesn’t change. Navigating decisions becomes straightforward and you lead a fulfilled life doing what you love.
However, this perspective is riddled with unrealistic expectations and misconceptions about life’s nature and our emotional landscape. The reality often tells a different story, where the quest for a singular, unchanging purpose leads to frustration and disillusionment. What happens when the career or life path you choose, believing it to be your purpose, starts to feel misaligned with your evolving desires and values? What happens when the pressures of adult responsibilities in your family life start weighing you down? You begin to feel anything but fulfilment in your life, professional or personal.
I don’t think that a search for a singular, unchanging purpose is a goal worth pursuing. Nor we should be expecting to feel fulfilled by everything we do. Even in the most passion-driven jobs, there will always be tasks that we procrastinate on or outright dislike. Instead of fixating on discovering an overarching purpose in life, the stage needs to be set for a more pragmatic approach. As we evolve and the environment around us changes, our purpose and our ‘why’ needs to change too.
It is true, we need to feel that our work and our life is meaningful. Companies try to close this gap by communicating that they as employer care about social, economic or environmental issues. They also build team dashboards and peer appreciation systems so that you and your team can get the feedback on your work and to show our contribution. However, what can we do that’s in our control, on an individual level? How can we give meaning to what we do?
The focus should shift towards embracing a journey of continuous self-discovery and adaptation. This mindset shift invites us to accept that purpose is not a destination but an ongoing process of aligning our actions with our evolving values and goals. By embracing this, we lay the groundwork for actionable strategies that promote growth and development in all facets of life. Identifying what we can control and seeking incremental improvements in our daily activities allows us to cultivate multiple, flexible ‘why’s,’ enhancing our adaptability to discover the sweet spot between the world’s needs, our desires, and our competencies.
This is what matters most: Embracing life without a rigid attachment to a predefined purpose or unrealistic expectations of fulfilment. It’s about recognising that our purpose can and should evolve, that true fulfilment stems from growth and adaptation, and that the essence of our journey lies in the continuous pursuit of becoming better versions of ourselves. With this approach, we can navigate life’s complexities with resilience and openness to change, finding purpose not in a distant goal but in everyday discovery, learning and development.
I will leave you with quote from a management consultant Steven Butler: “If you really want to find your purpose, don’t look for it. ‘Why’ is not something you can find because ‘Why’ isn’t a thing. It’s a verb and you are doing it right now.”