In our office this summer at the Newtown, PA 8WW center, we are reviewing the 9 longevity principles from The Blue Zones:  Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner.  We are on week 3, Have A Purpose.

 Principle #3:  HAVE A PURPOSE

This is probably my most favorite principle in the book.  Those that live long healthy lives all have a purpose.  It’s that little feeling you have inside of you that says “now this is what I am meant to do, what I’m good at, and what I love.”  It’s that knowing that this is what God created me for. 

Okinawans call it ikigai and Sardinians call it plan de vida… translation:  why do you wake up each morning?  Is your purpose to be the best parent you can possibly be?  Is your purpose defined by your charitable work?  Is your purpose to be the best ‘widget’ maker your company has ever seen?  My French grandmother always would say to me, “Denise you must maintain that certain “joie de vivre” (joy of living) throughout your life.”  And I know what she meant now. 

Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”  Wayne Dyer states “Don’t die with your music still in you.”  Those that lead lives of quiet desperation or die with their music still in them are people that don’t have a purpose for living. 

 Some of you know exactly what your purpose is, while others really aren’t so sure.  So here are some steps you can take to more clearly define your purpose:

• Write your own mission statement.  Put in on an index card and recite it each day.  Many of you have heard our center’s mission statement that we recite together before the start of each shift.  It gets our minds focused on the task at hand which is serving YOU, our customers, with the best possible care and love that we can give.  What are you passionate about?  What gets up pumped up?  What gets you excited to start your day?  By answering these questions, you’ll more clearly define your personal mission statement.

• Find someone to talk with about your life’s purpose.  This could be a spouse, sibling, friend, co-worker, but essentially it’s someone that really knows you.  They know your likes and dislikes.  That know what makes you happy.  They know what you are good at (and what you aren’t so good at!)

• Keep your mind working – read, do crosswords, engage in lively discussions.

I know that I know that I know what my purpose is.  In the simplest terms it is to be an encourager of people.  I get excited each day when I wake up knowing that whoever I come in contact with that day, I have the opportunity to make their day better, whether this is through an amazing adjustment, with encouraging words, something I might enlighten them about their health, or simply through a hug.