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Why is purpose so important?

In the early 1900\\u2019s, Dr. Sigmund Freud argued man\\u2019s primary motivation was the desire for pleasure. He created all sorts of theories around this that unfortunately are still studied and practiced to this day, and while feeling pleasure, or more accurately, JOY is definitely important, it is not the primary motivation for life, and when pleasure is the center focus of your life, then we\\u2019re actually driven more toward addictions and depression. 

On the other hand, Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Jew, wrote Man\\u2019s Search for Meaning (i highly recommend reading!) who spent years in concentration camps during Hitler\\u2019s terror,  contended with Freud saying man\\u2019s primary desire wasn\\u2019t for pleasure but for a deep sense of meaning. He said when a man couldn\\u2019t find a deep sense of meaning (or purpose), he distracted himself with pleasure.

Knowing your purpose and living your purpose can keep people out of depression\\u2026

Dr Frankl called his process Logotherapy, logos is a greek word which denotes meaning, or purpose.

Frankl\\u2019s work in logotherapy had remarkable results, After WWII, Victor Frankl was put in charge of the mental health division of the Viennese hospital system. They had been losing many patients to suicide. Dr. Frankl came in and put patients through his simple process, of teaching the patients to find purpose and meaning in life, and in that time, the 30,000 patients under his watch, not one committed suicide. We really are designed to experience a life of meaning.

Having a meaning or a purpose in life, is what makes us not just want to live, but helps us to want to thrive and find ways to thrive.

Most recently, in two different courses that I\\u2019m taking, I had two different activity assignments that helped me tremendously in reminding me of my purpose, and helping me clarify my purpose.

I want to pass them on to you.

The first one is this to ponder and answer this question-

If you found out that you had 5 years left in your life, how would you want to spend them?

5 years is not a long time, it\\u2019s also not a short time where you\\u2019re likely to just go bucketlist crazy and throw all caution to the wind.  This is why thinking about just 5 years left leaves us with a good thought experiment.  It helps to hone in on what\\u2019s really most important to you.

What kind of legacy would you want to leave and how can you do it in a short amount of time?

Don\\u2019t get too caught up in the thought that you only have 5 years left to live though, because there may be something that you would only do if you knew you still have 20-50 years left, there are plenty of things that are meant for the long game, and I totally support them;  but this question can help clarify what you really value and the thing or things that you really want to pursue in this lifetime.  Which, ideally, could lead you to some clarity on your purpose.

Honestly, this is the question that lit a fire under me to stop overthinking and start producing shorter, (possibly messier), podcast episodes.

This question helps with clarity of purpose, but even more, how to put your purpose into some action to fulfill that purpose and mission.

(and then this was the end of how many words I was allowed to put in the notes, but here is a link if you want to read the whole thing)

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