Meaning vs. Purpose

Sometimes, people confuse the meaning of life with the purpose of life. Meaning and purpose mean different things and simply cannot be joined at the hip. In this case, the meaning of life focuses on the significance of life. The meaning is a psychological concept. In turn, purpose is a spiritual concept of life. In this case, purpose is the course of action that is to be embarked on. It is the journey, rather than the concept and is more self-actualization. This can be further explored within the following quote.

“Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a secondary rationalization of instinctual drives.” – Victor Fankl

Look at your purpose as being the potential you have for your life. When someone says, “My purpose in life is to help people.” They are discovering that the gifts that they possess from a higher power give them the compassion and empathy that is necessary for helping others. This is their calling and what they are meant to do with their life.

Something to note is that for the purpose of life, you need to be connected to your emotional intelligence. Here, you’ll be able to find the passion you have in life and this will help to drive you. When you are passionate about something, you feel an emotional connection to it and it drives you to find your true calling. Your purpose is the reason why you are living. Consider the following quote:

“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.” - Ayn Rand

That doesn’t work for the meaning of life. Instead, there are a number of views on the meaning of life that combine religious and philosophical elements to create some understanding of it. The meaning of life is more symbolic in most cases as a struggle about improving our souls so we can return to a higher power after living a life of goodness and compassion. It is a power struggle between good and evil and an endless array of consciousness and happiness.

Obviously, both the meaning of life and the purpose of life need to connect at some point to make sense of these concepts and to further advance. When you look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, you’ll notice that purpose and need are at the tip of the self-actualizing pyramid. In this case, these are reached when your esteem’s needs are successfully being met and there is no longer a need to prove yourself.

At the end of the day, there will always be questions about the meaning of life and the purpose of life for most people. As humans we aren’t given the advanced knowledge and understanding that is necessary to form a concrete answer for either. However, we do have the ability to spend a life gaining as much knowledge as we can, until we transcend to the other side.

Gregg Swanson is a human potential and peak performance coach and owns Warrior Mind Coach. He specializes in the development of mental strength and focus to achieve the flow state for maximum performance. You grab his complementary mini eBook, “How To Make Change Easy” by going HERE.