The Importance Of Having A Purpose In Your Life

In your mind and heart you should always have a purpose to keep you going. Having a purpose in life is what gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It gives you the energy and motivation to believe that today will be better than yesterday.

It gives your life the meaning it needs to make everything worthwhile. Few things are as important to your mental health and personal growth as having a purpose in life.

When you talk to people with mood swings or even mental disorders, this really stands out. Many people simply claim to have no goals at all.

Their lives just seem to be a total emptiness, without hope and with a meaningless daily existence. It is even possible to have hobbies but not enjoy them. Others have partners, friends and family but still feel emptiness.

This condition is disastrous and requires a delicate and often very long psychotherapeutic process to help the person rediscover his/her strength. They also need to reformulate their thoughts and find an emotional balance to rebuild their lives and set new goals for the future.

Reformulate your goals

We need to make it clear that it is perfectly normal to go through times when we are forced to reframe our goals. We all go through certain transition periods. Moments when we have to face reality and rewrite our deepest desires, thoughts and feelings.

Ending a relationship, losing a job or resigning or even going through setbacks. They are all things that make us have to define many aspects of our lives.

However, this is a good thing. People are walking stories, extraordinary stories that are constantly being rewritten. As long as there is ink in the inkwell to describe those purposes, there is always hope.

Goals for moving forward, the pillars of mental health

In 2016, Harvard University started a research project aimed at deepening the concept of how to thrive as a human being. We can understand this as something beyond one’s own well-being.

Above all, it is the ability to overcome and be resilient, using psychological strategies that allow us to face any circumstance in life and achieve happiness.

This research program has been running for several years. It is already clear that one of the fundamental factors in achieving these goals is that people have to work towards them.

Having a purpose in your life, as Viktor Frankl would say, has a direct impact on our mental health. This is confirmed by complementary studies such as those published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2019.

According to this study, led by doctors Ying Chen and Erik Kim, having purpose in life has a direct impact on physical health, psychological balance, self-esteem, and emotional processing.

These goals, and the meaning each gives to people’s existence, act as an internal support that lifts burdens, filters out fears, and restores balance and hope.

What does it mean to have a purpose in your life?

Now that you know the importance of having a goal in life to improve the quality of your life, this leads us to the next question: what is exactly one goal?

First of all, we must understand that a goal is not just an objective. For example, it’s not about wanting a bigger house. Nor is it about getting a better job. It’s also not about achieving an ideal weight or going to the gym consistently.

It’s much more than that. The goals of your life transcend mere desire. They lift you up, help you find your place in life and provide goals to strive for, hope in your heart and energy to motivate yourself.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience that having a goal means having a fixed intention in your head that takes you to something that is meaningful to you, something that goes even beyond yourself.

An example of this would be to help others in some way. Another example would be to create something to inspire others. For example, think of a book, a song or a work of art.

It may have something to do with learning or gaining more knowledge about a specific topic or area. Another charity would be to bring happiness to your family or to take care of your loved ones.

Always try to move forward with a purpose in your life

Mark Twain spoke to us about the two most important days in your life. The first is when you are born. The second is when you finally discover the meaning of your life, the meaning that gives purpose to your existence. As you well know, sometimes this is not easy. It’s not easy to determine what really sets your heart on fire and beats faster.

But there always comes a moment when something really touches you. If you really feel that passion and meaning. It is essential that you clarify, that you always have a purpose if you want to move forward.

Why? Because when you have purpose, passion and meaning in your life, it can really help you in times of adversity. In the midst of the storm, you will see opportunities appear. They will give you the optimism to face challenges with hope in your heart.

On the other hand, as we noted earlier, those resolutions to move forward can change at any time. It’s not the same to be 20 as it is to be 60.

Also, when you close one phase and start another, you are not the same person, both on an emotional and work level. Suddenly, new needs, new feelings, and new goals appear on the horizon, and these give birth to hope.

Let’s keep them in mind. You too have an inner flame that can nourish all your dreams and every path you take. Keep this flame burning!