“What human beings can be, they must be.” Abraham Maslow
All human beings have an objective or purpose to their lives. It could be money, power, fame, sex, pleasure, happiness, living for God, or just plain surviving. What is your purpose?
This is ultimately the most important question you will ask in your life? What is your ultimate purpose? What is the game you are playing? All games have objectives. The object of the game of monopoly, for example, is to have the most money at the end. The ultimate purpose of football is to score more points than your opponent when the game is over.
I first started asking these questions about my own life around the third year of college, after one too many late nights and parties. But make no mistake about it, these are critical questions in your life.
Knowing your purpose allows you to answer the question “why?” In his book and popular Ted Talk, “Start with Why,” Simon Sinek says that the first and most important question we ask is why? Why do we exist? Why am I here? Why do we do anything? We start with “why,” because it never changes, inspires, and drives our actions in life. The answer to the question of “why” provides the center of our being from which all other behavior emanates. Do not worry or shame yourself if you have not found your “why” yet. But take some time to really think about your purpose.
Fortunately, this subject has been studied extensively by both ancient and modern scholars and scientists. About 2,500 years ago, the famous philosopher, Aristotle, analyzed all the different possible objectives in life – such as pleasure, power, wealth, sex, fame, etc. – and came to the well-supported conclusion that the highest good in life is “happiness.”
Fast forward to modern times, and the renowned psychologist, Martin Seligman, pioneered a revolution in psychology, called “positive psychology.” The goal of positive psychology is to explore “what makes life worth living.” In researching what is the highest purpose for human beings, Seligman concluded that it too was happiness, and wrote about it in his book, “Authentic Happiness,” published in 2002. There, he argued that “happiness” was the ultimate aim in life. So, there you have it. From ancient wisdom to modern science, it is widely agreed that the ultimate purpose for our lives should be the pursuit of happiness. Let that be the scale we use to measure our lives. Are you pursuing what makes you happy?