“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling
For some people, adding value and having a purpose in life is an essential aim and helps to keep them inspired and positive. For others, fulfilment and purpose is halted by fear of failure or lack of focus and motivation.
A great deal of research now suggests that people who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of everything they do. They also experience less stress, less anxiety and are less prone to experience prolonged bouts of depression.
It helps us to answer the burning questions of “Why are we here?” and “What’s it all about anyway?” It can guide you in how you choose to live your life, what you strive for and also provide a framework and measurement for the goals that you set yourself. It can help you to make sense of what happens to you and provide a source of comfort and strength in challenging and difficult periods of your life.
There are many ways that you can add value and create more purpose in your life and here are three useful tips:
Your core values will essentially help you to establish your true purpose in life so it is really important to identify and understand what is truly important to you. Values determine your priorities and essentially are the measure you use to tell yourself that life is going the way you want it to.
Being true to yourself starts with raising your level of self-awareness. Knowing and understanding your strengths and limitations and what you are passionate about will provide you with valuable personal insight. Taking time to analyse and identify what works for you will help to define you and build confidence. You will then be in a better position to make more considered choices about how you want to live your life.
Adding value to other people’s lives can be very rewarding in a multitude of ways. There are so many things that you can do to add value to other people’s lives and make a positive difference. It really doesn’t need to be huge or magnanimous gestures; very often it is the small and considerate things that you do that can make a big difference to someone else.
Summary
If you know that you are doing the best you can every day in every way then you will know that you add value, and your purpose in life will be to know that you can make a positive difference in everything that you do.
“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” – Robert F. Kennedy