The Purpose-Driven Life

[mousme]

Okay, inquiring minds want to know. Inspired by a post by bodhifox, I have been thinking about what my role is in life, what my "title" would be. I can't think of one for myself. I am not Writer or Artist or Engineer or Mother or anything like that. I've never asked anyone else who or what they think I am (I think I'm a little afraid of what they might answer).

What about y'all?

[Poll #1474904]

Comments

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

I am a complete mess and therefore no one that anyone would ever take as a model, but I'm pretty sure that the point is to be kind.

I try to, anyway.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Mine is something along the lines of "Make my little patch of the world a better place. Or at least try very hard not to make it worse. Sort of. I think.

[swestrup]

Yeah, mine too. "Leave the world a better place than you found it." is one pillar of it, and "Ideas last longer than physical things" is another. So, I try to come up with good ideas whose existence makes the world better. So far, so-so results.

[striped.livejournal.com]

I said other, because my answer would be both "Uh, maybe? Sort of?f", in that I have a pretty clear idea by now of what are the most important and meaningful things I can be doing in my life (loving, writing, making music, science educating), at least for now, and "I don't believe that each person has a single purpose", because these things are not one single thing but rather a combination that makes a full life.

Also, "purpose" in my opinion implies a subject who has meant my life to be a certain way, and I don't believe there is any such subject, not even myself.

This is really interesting! I might develop my answer here into a real entry.

[irishyogini.livejournal.com]

I think a person's title changes from time to time. I know what makes me happy and I have things I want to do, but things change.

[crowgirl13.livejournal.com]

I think that titles change, shift or are lost over time.

And purposes generally have a lot of play to 'em, allowing for all sorts of soul-growth and unexpected opportunities.

:)

[merccom.livejournal.com]

i think having a purpose may actually be a bad thing.

for example if someone said "my purpose is to cure cancer"

that may sound great but it may not be acheaveable and if you live your life with the sole goal of curing cancer what kind of a life is that?

i think it would be better to live life with a set of principals with which to judge decisions against.

under those principals you can set goals of things that you would like to accomplish but if the goals start interfearing with the principals then you can modify the goal and you dont lose your purpose in life.

[delta-november.livejournal.com]

I was asked some years ago to come up with my mission statement. I chose:
"Building machines to go to the dangerous places, that our children may inherit the stars." It's stuck with me.