On Purpose

To live a fulfilling life, you need a sense of purpose.

What's a sense of purpose? I suppose this depends on the person, so all I can do here is answer for myself. So for me, purpose is a sense that I've made a difference, that I've done something that matters.

So when do/have I felt that way? Here's a list:

• When I helped my mom research a court case.
• When I help new dancers learn the basics.
• When I organized a writers' group in grad school.
• When I give feedback on friends' writing.
• When I taught horseback riding.
• When I built my website and notebook.

A lot of those examples involve working with people. And the goal of each collaboration seems to serve the other person. So it seems I like helping.

I'm not sure whether this translates to collaborating in service to a mutual goal (eg, cofounding a company). I haven't done much of that. But I'm curious.

One of these (writers group) involves community-building. Haven't done much of that either. I do like hosting parties, though.

As for the work itself: How engaging does it need to be? And here's another question: For the times I've felt a sense of purpose, did I feel it because the work was engaging, or was the work engaging because I felt a sense of purpose?

As usual, the answer is "both." The work can't be boring and it can't be pointless. If it's either of those things, the sense of purpose disappears. Also see: Craft and Purpose.

So it seems like I feel the greatest sense of purpose when I'm doing engaging work with other people to help other people.

So maybe the formula is something like: Engaging work + collaboration + helping = a sense of purpose. Or:

$$E+C+H=P$$