Finding Purpose

Imagine getting paid for doing something that connects to your sense of purpose. You would leave work each day filled with a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment, knowing that what you did that day mattered. How cool would that be?!

I want to share a technique with you that will help you feel that way, today.

Have you heard the parable about the bricklayers? It goes something like this:

I was walking to work the other day, when I came upon a construction site. I saw some workers there, laying bricks and building a wall.

I asked the 1st guy: “Why are laying bricks?”

He replied: “To pay the bills man. I gotta work to eat and pay rent.”

I walked on and thought about his answer. I thought “I get that, we all have to pay the bills, so we need to do some kind of job to make money.” As I walked, I came across another worker. I asked him the same question: “Why are you laying these bricks?”

He replied quite differently. He proudly explained: “I am making a building here.”

I shook his hand and kept walking. I thought “Wow! Good for you man, you’re proud of what you do. This is more of a career for you.”

I came across one more worker and asked him the same thing: “Why are you laying these bricks?”

His response blew me away. He said: “We’re building a cathedral, so that people can be closer to their creator.”

These three guys were all doing the same thing, but they had vastly different attitudes about what they were doing. Do you think that the first guy went home with a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment at the end of his day? No, he didn’t. He is just trudging along through life, waiting for something to happen TO him.

The third guy had found a way to see the big picture and to see how his contributions mattered. I am sure that he leaves his job feeling good about himself.

You might not be building a cathedral, but if you think about it long enough, I bet you can find meaning in what you do. People frequently think that in order to find their purpose, they need to do something else. To start a new job, to move somewhere, to begin again…. But that isn’t necessarily true in many cases and hasn’t been true for me throughout my life.

When I find a way to connect what I am doing to helping others, I am deeply fulfilled. I challenge you to ask yourself: “Why am I doing what I do?”

We can find meaning and purpose in every action of our lives. It is up to us to do it though. You won’t necessarily get a divine calling from a higher power. You can simply change the way you perceive things.