Waking up With a Purpose

Recently I have been working with the Blue Zone Project.  If you haven’t heard of it check it out here.  In short “Blue Zones” are areas around the globe where people live the longest, like Okinawa, Japan and Sardinia, Italy.  A man by the name of Dan Buettner, who worked for National Geographic, went to these areas and researched their culture and lifestyle to see why they lived so long.  In the five communities he researched around the world, he found nine commonalities in their lifestyles such as moving naturally, eating a high percentage of plants for their meals, and having a supportive group of friends or tribe.  He calls these the “Power 9”.  He believes that if we implement these practices into our community and life, that we will become healthier, happier, and live longer. Who wouldn’t want that?  So, he has implemented Blue Zone Projects around the United state, and Windward Oahu is one of the areas!  The project is a community-wide well-being improvement initiative to help make healthy choices easier in Hawaii.  Their goal is to make the healthier choice the easy choice.  Sounds good to me.

One of the nine commonalities that Dan found while researching the Blue Zones was that people from each of these communities woke up with a purpose.  People knew what their purpose was whether it be to tend to the garden and prepare meals for the family, or take care of the grand children.  They knew that they were needed in their family and in the community and what they did contributed to the greater good. 

Now when I heard this one, it really made me stop and reflect on my life.  Did I have a purpose?  Did I feel that what I did contributed to my community or family?  Did I wake up every day knowing my intentions for the day?  This one really stumped me.  I could handle “move naturally”, or “Downshift” (finding time to unwind and relax), but this one, I had never really thought about. 

As I pondered life I couldn’t put my finger on what my purpose was.  I used to know what my purpose was in life with my old job.  I felt that I had a purpose and I had people depending on me to be there and to help them.  And even though that job wasn’t the right fit for me, I still felt like I had a purpose and I would wake up knowing what I needed to do that day. 

But since I have left that job just over a year ago and ventured out into health coaching and building my own business, I have found myself devoid of a daily purpose.  What exactly am I supposed to be doing with my life?  Who am I supposed to serve and help?  How am I supposed to help them?  Believe me, I can get up every morning and find more than enough things to fill my day!  But what was my purpose?  And if research shows that having a purpose lengthens your life span, than I would really like to find it.

Maybe I am still developing my purpose.  Maybe it’s there, but I just don’t see it yet.  And maybe my purpose can change from day to day.  Maybe I am making this too complicated and it could be as easy as “Making a stranger smile.” 

What is your purpose?