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Having Purpose

The Why Behind the How

BY: T. Franklin Murphy | May 2018 (edited February 16, 2022)

A woman in a field of wheat. A Flourishing Life Society article about having a purpose.

Adobe Stock Images

When we have meaningful purpose, life events take on a different color.

A rich meaningful life doesn’t happen haphazardly—meaningfulness is not a guarantee. We create purpose by the way we live. Survival doesn’t depend on richness of experience; it doesn’t demand a meaning. We can use our powerful thinking mind in many ways. The complexity of human existence demands evaluating pasts and planning for futures. Purpose—the more meaningful 'whys' behind our actions—demands more than passing action. When we take positive action, we experience a richer, more meaningful life.

By knowing our intentions and moving towards them, we form a deeper experience; we feel vitality. Not simply momentary pleasure but a profound fullness. When a deeper life purpose motivates action, we feel hope and gather courage. If I have a why, then I bask in meaning.

"I want to wake up every morning, not with a sense of dread or apathy, but with a sense of excitement about what the day holds and what I can contribute."
Simple Minded

Our 'why' behind the action may vary. People experience richness to their existence for a variety of reasons. Many rely on a belief in a life after death to provide meaning to the unknown pains and sorrows of this world of tears. But we are not limited to unexplainable 'whys' that only exist beyond our current existence.

Our narrative self provides many opportunities for expanding meaning. Our families, passions and creations all give a little zing to life, propelling us past the humdrum of day to day existence and into something more.

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
~Friedrich Nietzsche

We experience emotions throughout the days, weeks and years. Some experiences undoubtedly discomfort; but with purpose the pain diminishes. We endure knowing the unpleasantness will pass. Each moment seen through the context of the whole. We don’t live for a single moment. When we know WHY, the HOW is much more endurable.

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T. Franklin Murphy

Wellness. Writer. Researcher.
T. Franklin Murphy has a degree in psychology. He tirelessly researches scientific findings that contribute to wellness. In 2010, he began publishing his findings.