Purpose

I’ve been reading the book Blue Zones by Dan Buettner.  It’s about places in the world where a significantly greater amount of people live to be 100 or more.  He traveled to all these areas to verify ages and study their lives trying to decipher why these people lived so much longer.  Not only do they live longer, but they live healthier longer.  They aren’t sitting in wheelchairs or waiting for the end in a nursing home taking multiple pills a day.  They are working, living with family, active, and clear in mind.

There are several overlapping traits that each of these different populations around the world have in common.  One of those things is a sense of purpose, a reason for getting out of bed each day, something they need to accomplish.  He contrasted that with America where we are the exact age we become useless: the age we retire.  In America, the attitude is that we will work hard, retire, then relax and enjoy life.  While it sounds nice, that isn’t always what happens.  The odds of dying during your first year of retirement are significantly higher than during your last year working.  Dan Buettner wonders if is because we lose our sense of purpose when we retire.  We’ve all bought into this belief that the good life is one where nothing is required of us and we can just relax.  But we might believe something that is completely false.  The good life doesn’t come when you no longer have any commitments or obligations to meet, the good life might mean having a purpose, feeling a sense that we are needed, that what we do matters.

My husband and I went on vacation years ago to Hawaii.  It was our first time traveling without all our little kids.  It was amazing!  We slept in, ate great food, had conversations without interruptions, swam in the ocean, etc.  We thoroughly enjoyed the rest and rejuvenation.  However, by the end of the trip we both expressed that we were ready to get back to our lives that were filled with meaningful work.  Being on vacation all the time isn’t fulfilling because there is no purpose, no work to which you feel called, no sense that what you do matters.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a big believer in vacations, resting, having fun, and enjoying life.  You can easily swing the pendulum too far the other way and have a life that is all work and no enjoyment.  That doesn’t lead to happiness either.

We need to enjoy our lives.  We need to rest and find things that rejuvenate us.  And if we truly want to be happy, we need to have a purpose for getting up each day.  We need to know that we are doing something that matters.