The body has an important role to play in being purposeful. So how did I manage this purpose challenge? My approach can be broken down into the same three dimensions of impact discussed above: Me, We, and World. In fact, keeping purpose in mind during this unpleasant if not painful hour might be one of the most challenging versions of living purposefully. You can still be purposeful, and practice the behaviors and choices that do advance your purpose in this very mundane context. Your purpose need not have anything to do with dental health, your own or others’ to make this example relevant. In the meantime, even without a technical understanding of dental health or carbon capture, acting purposefully is better for the World than not. Some education about social and environmental impact to optimize this World impact. On the We level, purposeful teams show higher levels of trust, which facilitates flexibility, innovation, and resilience.įinally, when we work and live purposefully, as individuals and organizations, we create less negative and more positive impact on the people and planet around us. To say nothing of life satisfaction and longevity. Aligning your choices and behavior with a purpose improves your individual well-being and performance in terms of mental and physical health, as well as focus, motivation, and creativity. Indeed, having just a well-crafted statement that you don’t connect to action can be worse than having no purpose at all, according to Zach Mercurio, PhD.Īcting in line with a purpose generates positive impact – it makes things better in three dimensions: Me, We, and the World. Perhaps, “to love and support my biological and chosen family, continue to learn and grow until the day I die, and leave the planet greener than I found it.” Or “to be a present and grateful human.” Literally just start somewhere – the influence of that statement on your day-to-day choices is what matters, not the literary quality of the statement.

Start simply with whatever comes to mind first even if it feels vague or generic. All it has to do is reasonably capture why you’re here. If you don’t have a purpose statement, take 30 seconds now (yes, actually now) to write something down. But that statement is a work-in-progress over the course of a lifetime. Yes, it is helpful – ultimately necessary – to have some sort of a unifying statement that describes how you understand your purpose.

Purpose exists in the everyday moments of our work and life: getting our kids (or elders) dressed, reviewing a colleague’s deliverable, buying groceries, setting a meeting agenda.

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