Wait, was that on purpose?

The Cambridge dictionary describes purpose as ," why you do something or why something exists." The dictionary by Merriam- Webster defines purpose as , "something set up as an object or end to be attained." But what does purpose mean to you? How much do you rely on purpose to live your life?

I looked at an interesting study done in Taiwan that analyzed purpose identification, in senior high school students, linked to life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. This study showed that," increases in purpose identification predicted enhanced life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms among both boys and girls." So basically, the more you can identify with a life purpose the more satisfied you will feel in life and less likely to have symptoms of depression. In contrast, a study done on older candidates, was to determine if "Purpose in Life Protects Against Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults." Here, the results showed a positive association between a participants purpose in life and total cognition score. In conclusion, "Having a purposeful life protects against cognitive decline in older adults." Therefore, science is telling us the more we find purpose, the more fulfilled we feel and so on and so forth. But what about those of us who feel we have no talent? Don't know what our purpose is or will ever be and are totally confused? Like me.

Here's my thoughts...Purpose is something different for each one of us. It is subjective and not always lucid. For me, purpose does not have to always reside in the form of a job or profession. I used to find great purpose in my job, without it do I no longer serve a purpose? I think it is human nature to automatically start finding purpose in other aspects, almost like a coping mechanism. I am still a mother, I look after the household, I am a friend, I am a wife, I am a provider. So, do we need to feel we have something to offer others to feel purposeful?

I think my purpose can also be growing as a human, expanding my mind, and turning my judgement into curiosity. I feel my purpose is to make connections and have experiences that teach me about life. It isn't necessarily in what I can provide, but rather what I am constantly learning. A trust-fund baby, who doesn't work a day in their life, nor do they want to, does not have no purpose. I know...must be nice. I hate to break it to you, but they are allowed to live and have experiences because just living could be their purpose. I think in the end we should not overthink it. If you find purpose that's awesome, and if you don't that's also great. Having purpose should not give us permission to live our lives and really enjoy it.

You are whole and you are enough.

Exist how you choose to exist

It's YOUR life, live!