What is your purpose?

“He who has a ‘WHY’ to live can bear any ‘HOW’ ”

I first came across this quote when I was reading “Man Search For Meaning” by Dr. Viktor Frankl and this kind of got stuck in my heart forever. Dr. Viktor Frankl was a holocaust survivor. Being a jew himself he was transferred to Auschwitz, Dachau, and other concentration camps during Nazi occupation in Austria at the time of the Second World War.

Through this book, he reflected upon his bleakest days, full of torture and soul-destroying mental conflicts, in those dreadful concentration camps and how he was able to come out alive from that hell. Unlike Dr.Frankl, most of the prisoners in the camp died because they lost their purpose, their hope, and the meaning of their existence.

When suffering hit us hard and we come under the notion that everything is lost, our freedom to choose remains. It's all up to us, either to react or to the respond. Just like fate and death, Suffering is also an ineradicable part of life. Without suffering life cant be complete.

 

Imagine how lethargic and dull living beings would have been if there was no concept of death in human life. People would have never given that much importance to life then. Likewise man needs sufferings and difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy life.

Isn’t it quite true that the one who knows the purpose of his or her existence can endure any miseries that this simple yet so complicated life can throw? If we see meaning in our life or even in our sufferings we will never lose the ray of hope. Therefore our focus should always be on our purpose, on the change we will bring forth in the world.

In his book “Man Search For Meaning”, Dr. Viktor Frankl writes about a very beautiful psychotherapeutic concept called ‘logotherapy’. The word ‘Logo’ refers to ‘meaning’ in the Greek language. According to logotherapy, this striving to find meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in living beings. Until and Unless we can't find that purpose of our life, we cant tell its meaning.

Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure or money, but a quest for meaning. Knowing our purpose or the meaning of our existence strengthens our inner strength which in turn raises us above our outwards fate.

Let us examine this at a micro-level. We all have gone through those days in our life when we lack motivation and hope and become bit casual. It's quite normal we are human after all. But do you know why do we lack that motivational force? It is because the gravity of our negative mental forces surpasses that of our reasons to do our work ("OUR WHY(s)"). And it becomes crucial at that time to ask yourself these questions: “Why you started at first? “,” What is your purpose, and how meaningful you consider your work to be?”

We have been talking about ‘purpose’ a lot, but have you wondered what purpose actually is. Each one of us is born with a life purpose, and that's what I believe. According to Oprah Winfrey,

“purpose is the thread that connects the dots to everything you do that leads to an extraordinary life.” 

Hereby extraordinary life we mean the life full of contentment.

In simple word purpose refers to the meaning of your existence, your calling, and why are u here in this journey called life. What God thought you would do here in this world when he sent your soul on this voyage.A lot of people don’t know their purpose and if you don’t know it your main aim should be to figure it out. But wait, how?

Well, there is no secret mathematical spiritual formula as such. You will get to know the meaning of your existence just keep the faith alive in you. The more you think about its deficiency the worse your life would be. Stop summoning negative energy in your life by saying that you lack it or affirming that you desperately need it. Just keep following your inner GPS. The right steps will keep on unfolding along the way provided you are ready to embrace new opportunities.

Such a vague answer, right? But believe me, no one can ever tell you how to find your calling. It's not as simple as that and there isn’t an easy answer to this question. Everyone’s life is different and so is their purpose. There isn't any predefined way to find your why. Its a step by step process of ceaselessly doing what you love and what feels righteous. Enjoy this beautiful process and a day will come when you will tell others your purposeful story.And most importantly, there is no need to feel depressed if you haven’t found it yet. This process might be long for some of us and may test our patience.

So here I leave you with a mesmerizing quote by Oprah Winfrey,” Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do”. Till then be hopeful, keep striving, and keep dreaming for you are the one responsible for your life and remember what you are seeking is seeking you.

See you in the next post.